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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.
No Mask
[ John grabs the guy before he can fully make it inside the house. It's harder to stop the suit than he thought it would be. Hells, the man practically a solid wall of muscle. ]
Pretty sure you should wet that bandana first but if you're determined to roast yourself like a chestnut let me give you a little extra protection.
[ Does he have any idea if this is going to work? Nope. John's magic has been somewhat unpredictable since he arrived in this miserable reality. It seems like any time he helps someone it works but helping himself? No.
He chants a few words in Enonchian and traces golden-red glowing symbols in the air in front of the man. When the invocation of protection is finished he slams his hand and the magic itself into the man's chest. ]
There. You're set. That will keep the sparks from catching and the smoke from your lungs. [ If the spell works. John's not admitting the whole magic is unreliable thing to a stranger. ] Though the spirit's right. Only way you're doing anything to put out this magic is a confession.
no subject
He doesn't fight the magic, or call it bullshit, or a waste of time. But, as soon as it's done, he's turning to move back towards the building.]
Then start thinking of what you want to say.
[And with that, he's off -- Bruce doesn't trust the magic fully, he's going to take care, and at the nearest sink inside he throws a handful of water onto his face to get the bandana damp, but as he works his way through the building, calling:]
Where are you? I'm here to help. Don't touch any doors -- shout if you can hear me!
[...he notices that the fire doesn't feel all that hot.
Damn. Whatever that guy outside who looked like he'd just pulled two all-nighters did, it seems to have worked.
Unusually convenient.
He finds the little family of flower people huddling in their kitchen, the wallpaper peeling in a way that brings back really, really painful personal memories. Bruce pushes past them, and offers his hand, staying calm to cut through their panic. Getting down the stairs is harder -- they're losing their structural integrity, and Bruce has to hold the last one and jump down to the bottom floor, but he makes it, they make it, and he ushers the singed plants out the door.]
That all of you? There's no one else?
[They nod their top-heavy, petaled heads, rubbing their leaves against their faces in anxious, tearful relief. One of them has a leaf half-burned-off -- it's showing its spouse, or its sibling, or its roommate in shocked horror, because this? This doesn't usually happen. Folkmore is usually safe for them.]
You're going to be all right, [he says to the spirits, pulling the bandana down to free his nose and mouth.] I'll do it. Don't worry.
[Bruce looks around for that guy from before -- is he still here? If they're going to stop the fire properly, he could use someone to spill his guts to.]
no subject
When the first elemental child comes running out of the flames John knowns he's fucked. He would happily let the whole place burn but there's this little elemental child who looks so lost and has little burns on them and well, John's fucked. ]
Hey now, it's alright luv. [ He crouches down in front of the little one and summons a touch of magic to put out the little embers and clear the ash from them. ] Don't worry, we're going to make it right for you. You just have to be brave for your family, yeah? Chin up. Take them a safe distance. I've got magic and this man has guts. Between the two of us, we'll put this out.
[ He gives the elemental a little nudge towards the family and then makes a shooing gesture to have them go away.
It just had to be fucking kids. It's like the ruling spirit knew just where to press to give John to give a damn. ]
Well, I can think of one confession that'll put this whole blaze out in a single go. [ He still takes a moment to light a new cigarette on the burning house. He's not doing this without a smoke to ease the ache in his chest. ]
I killed my mum in childbirth.
[ Ah, there's the woosh of fire losing oxygen. John glares at the flames that are dying so fast it's like they have no oxygen at all.
He blows out a stream of smoke. ] There you go. All taken care of.
no subject
Mine was shot to death, protecting me from a mugger. I was seven.
[And there the last of the flames go, fading out, looking for a moment like Martha's face as she tries to pull the gun away -- then realizes it's trained on her instead, caught in her jewelry. It's only embers, now, and Bruce goes over and kicks some dirt over them, driving his heel down for good measure.
He's guessing this guy doesn't want to talk about their mothers any more than Bruce does, so he skips to introductions.]
So. You're magic.
no subject
Not like this place is. I learned my magic. Earned it through hard work and study. [ There was a time John thought he'd been born with a gift. He's older, wiser, and humble enough to know that he was really born with a curse. ]
John Constantine. Exorcist. Demonologist. Petty dabbler in the Dark Arts. [ He walks into what remains of the house and starts kicking aside debris and ash. None sticks to his trench coat. It does stain his shoes and pants though. ]
You look familiar though. Have I seen your face somewhere? [ John can't quite put his thumb on it but he gets the strangest sense of deja vu when he looks at the man who ran into the flames to rescue people. ]
no subject
[Just his luck, if this guy is from Bruce's world, and just saw Bruce Wayne run into a burning building to save some kids.
Well -- it's not out of character. Not after Black Zero. The thing about Bruce Wayne is that he's inconstant, unreliable, feels too much instead of nothing at all, fluctuates. Bruce can roll with this.
His hands go into his pockets, and he shifts his expression to something lazier, less focused.]
I'm Bruce Wayne. Billionaire, tabloid darling, scourge of open bars everywhere -- ringing a bell?
no subject
[ John gives him another look over, his gaze slower and more focused this time. Huh. All his adventures and this is finally the famous Bruce Wayne. ]
I feel telling you that the voices and sights in the flames are only illusions pulled from your memories. They're not the actual spirits of your past regrets.
[ John kicks over a pile of debris and ash and makes a little sound of triumph. He crouches down and pulls out an ash stained stuffed animal. He dusts it off as he talks. ]
It's a trick a lot of spirits use. Demons are especially good at it seeing all the nasty bits no one likes others to see. [ He frowns at the toy for a moment. ] I guess this is good enough.
[ He blows some cigarette smoke over it, chants a few words in Old English, and then takes a deep breath in. All the dirt and ash and smoke on the toy lift off and get pulled into his lungs. John doesn't stop until the toy is clean.
Then he turns his head and coughs for a long time. ] Oh, that taste will linger. Oh God. That's awful.
no subject
He watches Constantine clean the toy, and then cough, and cough, and cough. Bruce has no idea what the guy is trying to do with the magic, but it seems worth watching -- because Bruce Wayne has nothing better to do, and it's a power Batman hasn't seen before and therefore ought to know about.]
O-kay, [he says, like he's just seen someone do something weird and a little socially unacceptable in public, but is going to roll with it.] If you don't mind my asking, Mr. Constantine -- time gets a little funny, here, and I want to know. What year was it, last you checked?
no subject
He spits a bit of ash from his mouth and wipes his mouth on his sleeve. John stands and makes his way towards Bruce. ]
Somewhere in the 2020s I think. I've been wandering a bit. Gets a little hard to keep track, mate. [ He pats his shoulder. And yes, it's to get some of the ash off on his clothes instead. ] Hang on a tick.
[ He catches up to the family of elementals and hands the toy over to the youngest child. He clearly doesn't know what to do with their thanks and praise and backs off from it all as quickly as he can. ]
Why does it matter?
no subject
God, Bruce would be grateful to make it to the 2020s. Or at least know that that was how much time he had, to figure out a way back.
But his whole manner stays cool, relaxed.]
Just curious if the Goliaths beat the Meteors next year. That'd be 2017, for me. It's been long enough since those aliens trashed downtown Metropolis that I won't feel too bad about our football team taking them out.
[That's an are we from the same place check. Anyone from Bruce's universe knows what happened on Black Zero Day, remembers when the broadcast from Zod went out, telling everyone in every language that they weren't alone. If Constantine recognizes the event...that's a significant data point.]
no subject
[ John is a punk rock nerd. He may have a sharp tongue and tattoos but he absolutely prefers to spend his time practicing magic and reading esoteric texts. He only vaguely knows sports from hanging out in bars. He's only half certain that's American football Bruce is talking about.
John snaps his fingers and shakes one at Bruce. ] Not where I come from originally. But I've heard of it.
[ It was in a file somewhere. Maybe? It was Earth thirty something, he thinks. ]
I'd say afraid I can't tell you more because it might effect timelines but I've got no idea if that works in this little pocket realm we've found ourselves in.
no subject
cw: mention of suicide
I've been trying every trick I know to crack this place open. [ Hidden away underneath his sleeves are some fresh cuts from a few blood rituals he tried to make an escape.
At this point John's not even sure of killing himself will allow a demon to come collect his soul like one's supposed to. ] I need a few things for the bigger rituals but haven't found them yet.
[ He grins, sharp and a bit charming. ] You'll notice when get out of here. It'll be a show.
no subject
[His expression is no warmer, no less sharp, but the sharpness isn't directed at Constantine, and his eyes lose some of the Bruce Wayne dullness they took on once he was recognized.]
I'll look forward to it.