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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.
J̶o̶h̶n̶ ̶S̶m̶i̶t̶h̶ Kyon - Haruhi Series - Familiar - TDMing
[The Fox couldn't have had better timing, as the sharp pain in Kyon's side from being stabbed and the blood spilling from the wound was very much something he knew he could not come back from. Even if the sight of two Mikuru Asahina's worried about him was... nice. There was also the other person who simply told him to sleep and that it had hurt for him as well, but before he had completely blacked out? There was the Fox, and hey considering all the craziness he's been through up to this point?
A fox showing up as he's on death's door? Not that weird.
Now the changes as he follows, and the falling from the sky? That's weird, more so where he lands. The only sign of his Role being the cat ears and tail, calico ones to be exact, on his person. But the one problem is how he is dressed. A winter coat, scarf and his winter uniform... Which are stained in blood on his left side, yet no stab wound in sight, are most certainly not fitting for Cruel Summer. So after wandering the sands, he's removed his coats and scarf but is a sweaty mess and trying to not be disturbed by the sounds he's hearing.]
Ghost Tours Inside
[Sure, a ghost town. Okay. The only thing that matters right now is that he's not out in the heat. What he wasn't expecting was literal ghosts.]
... Good grief.
[He's watching a family of ghosts go about their routine, not quite knowing what to do. He is most certainly not going out of his way to disturb the ghosts, at least not yet. Or pick up any of the weaponry that can be found. Alas, Kyon is not a fighter at all. Of course this makes him a prime target for shenanigans with some other Star Children who are less wary of the weapons or the ghosts.]
Flames to Embers
[Kyon has finally gotten himself settled and now there are fires.
Seriously? He happens to find himself near when a fire starts up, and he is very skeptical of the presented solution.]
I don't have anything to confess.
[He says to whoever it is that is nearby. Although this is kind of a lie, he is full of secrets... If you're Haruhi Suzumiya.]
Wildcard
[What it says on the tin. I am bad at writing something for wildcards, so go wild.]
Flames to Embers.
Whether it's interesting or not, that's more of an issue.
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And if I did it wouldn't be all that entertaining to here anyway.
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[As the fire starts to get a little more, fire-y. Which makes Kyon flinch.]
But fine, I don't always answer texts from my brigade leader on time.
[The memory is just, a flip style phone buzzing from being texted and being ignored for the time being the name on the display reads "Suzumiya, Haruhi" if one is trying to read it of course.]
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It's. An after school club, Haruhi just calls it that because she's [Crazy? Over enthusiastic?] Haruhi.
[As if that explains everything.]
Arrival
[ Comes a voice from behind. No person stands there, though. Upon looking down, Kyon might notice the fluffy white alien -- ears perked and tail held high. Kyubey cocks his head, looking between the wound and then up at the other. ]
You don't seem hurt, though. Not one bit. Did the fox heal you upon arrival or were you able to heal yourself?
[ While shock and adrenaline could be factors in all of this, Kyubey is assuming something mystical at play. ]
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Ah.]
A mascot character. [Is the first thing out of his mouth instead of an actual answer. He does move a hand to where, the now dried, blood had stained his clothes as if he's just realized this fact.
He hasn't, Kyon is very aware he was dying before the Fox showed up.]
I'm nothing special, so I assume it was the Fox's doing?
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Probably. She would likely want you at your best to stand a chance of surviving the desert.
[ He shakes himself as though he could remove all the itchy bits of sand from his fur. Unfortunately, it's sand as far as the eye can see. The action is futile. ]
But I wouldn't say you're nothing special. You can hear me and see me, after all! That makes you at least a little special.
[ A sweep of one of those long ears toward the stained jacket. ]
Non-special people don't usually attract the sort of attention that would give them wounds like that, either...
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[As he says this he lifts up his arm that has the coat and scarf he is carrying, to show off that he most certainly came from winter time.]
I don't think any of that applies here and... [How to explain the no longer there wound without saying what really happening.]
Normal people sometimes get into trouble though, maybe I was being mugged before I got here.
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[ Kyubey offers because he's just such a helpful little creature. He even has the decency to not point out that if Kyon really was getting 'mugged' the way 'normal people do,' he wouldn't have prefaced it by saying maybe. Which begs the question, what is Kyon trying to hide and why? What advantage does he think it will bring him in this situation?
It might be worth further observation. ]
Where will you go from here? Can I come, too?
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I don't plan on being here long enough for it to get dark.
[Honestly Kyon was just saying what first came to mind, and really he just doesn't feel like having to explain his situation from before he arrived here. It's honestly a lot and he lived through it.
As to Kyubey asking if he can come with? Kyon shrugs.]
I can't really stop you from doing what you want, but I'm going to look for water.
ghost tours inside
[ .. ah, see. There we go. One way more impulsive Star Child at the ready, apparently, since she calls out to Kyon with absolutely zero hesitation.
The good news is that Minako is at least not grabbing a weapon, but she is latching onto something else - namely Kyon's arm, starting to tug on it like she's actively attempting to drag him along. ]
If you do, we're going to be stuck here forever! We have to find our way out!
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Not because he doesn't like this situation, oh no, he very much enjoys girls, but he does have to worry about a certain so called god seeing thing. And sure, he's not sure if Haruhi is here but better safe than sorry.]
Considering my current attire, it's probably better to stay in here then go back outside.
[But aside from the slight attempt at getting away, Minako will find no problem in tugging him around.]
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As she is - indeed - definitely dragging him along further into the building now there's no resistance.. She doesn't seem to be having much trouble dragging him around despite the height difference, so maybe the blonde is reasonably strong. Or just very determined. ]
Please, if you think you won't die as easily in her as you would out there, then you're wrong.
[ Ominous.. ]
I bet that stupid fox hid some sort of danger in here for us. Why else would the door disappear like that? It's to trap us in here with it, obviously!
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And hey, at least Minako isn't dragging him by his tie, this is an improvement.]
Well, I assume dying of dehydration is a lot worse than whatever can happen in here, Miss.
[And considering he's fresh from the middle of being stabbed? He's actually pretty calm.]
The fox must be slow on bringing out the danger, considering the only things in here are weapons and ghosts.
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Are you not afraid of ghosts in the slightest?
[ He doesn't seem to be, if he could say that last thing so easily.. ]
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I mean, should I? It's not like any of them are trying to kill us right now after all.
[That... Is probably not the right thing to say, but hey he said it.]
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Kyon, what sort of answer is that! Minako looks truly confused in the face of it. Not even necessarily because it's weird, since it's the sort of answer Minako would give. But the problem with that is the fact that Minako is actually a magical superhero, and Kyon.. isn't..? She thinks, anyway. No way Kyon is going to transform and wear a skirt, surely.
Her question sounds kind of semi-sceptical, but she's actually sort of curious about what's going on with him for him to answer like that, so-- ]
Have ghosts ever tried to kill you before?
[ Is that why that 'right now' in his sentence is so specific? Or is he just anticipating something? ]
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At her question he just gives a half-hearted shrug before he speaks.]
Not actual ghost-ghosts, but data entities that could be mistaken for ghosts tried something like that once.
[Look, he just came from being stabbed. Which Minako might notice the drying blood on his left side of his clothes, and staining the jacket he's carrying. He is totally anticipating something.]
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[ She points at the spot of dried up blood. She was kind of assuming that he just got a stain on his jacket, maybe from all the sand and wastes out there, but the dots are connecting very quickly in Minako's mind right now. The blonde is smarter than she seems, after all.
God, it sounds like he really went through something bad. Likely right before ending up here, if that stain is any indication. No one is going to walk around with blood on their jacket for any longer than they have to, after all. ]
Seriously?! [ Minako looks stunned for a moment. Not because she doesn't believe his story, but exactly because she believes it. ] Why didn't you tell me?! You don't have to act all tough, like you're totally unaffected by what happened, or like you aren't worried about the ghosts here doing something similar, you know!
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[He looks at where she's pointing and oh right. He was bleeding out from being stabbed before he arrived here, he almost forgot about that. He wasn't expecting Minako to notice, or draw attention, to it. So he's just going to be nonchalant about the whole thing, but then she goes off about him not being tough or unaffected by everything and whelp.]
Because freaking out about it isn't going to help anyone right now? And the ghosts seem harmless, for now.
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Who cares whether it helps me or not? It might help you! Do you know how unhealthy it is to keep all your emotions inside?
[ .. pot, kettle. Minako may be the least qualified person in the entire world to say that, considering everything she crops up..
But those rules don't count for her! ]
If you went through something horrible, it's okay to be upset about it! It's the better thing to do, in fact!
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[He explains simply, he doesn't see it as bottling up anything on his end. More like it's not important at the moment, considering what is going on around them. Speaking of, some ghosts walk right through them or attempt to while going about their ghostly day.]
Oh, I think we're in the way.
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