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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 subject
She guesses that maybe his Elektra had a violent tendency based on the question, though she can't be sure without asking. She doesn't though, because everything about that is private and it's not her business to prod at him.
"I am not dressed as Daredevil, I am Daredevil," her voice is firm and proud. It's a title she worked to earned from the time she'd bought most of Hell's Kitchen to protect it while Matt was in jail and continued it after. "But yes, the costume its black and red and gorgeous."
no subject
He means that sincerely. Matt's never been able to truly see Elektra but she is, without a doubt in his mind, the most gorgeous woman to exist. Wearing his color? Taking his symbol? She must be radiant.
But he quickly clears his throat. "Sorry. I probably overstepped there."
She's not his Elektra. He should probably tone it down. She doesn't need him adding to the struggles she's going through with her Matt. He just can't help himself around her no matter the universe it seems like. Or maybe he's trying to replace his with her. Is he that desperate? Maybe.
no subject
"Oh, I am always gorgeous. That is just a straight fact." The best lawyer in the world couldn't argue against it. Of course they'd probably be arguing against some version of Matthew Murdock so that wouldn't be great of them anyways.
"It's fine," she says softly. It is, it's not particularly weird unless she thinks too hard about the fact that he's a version of Matt, any man complimenting her isn't some big shock, it happens more days. She isn't upset by it, it's just awkward, strange, and going to take some time to navigate.
"Tony Stark built me some really cool sais that worked with the helmet to basically give me echo location, so I could fight in the dark just like Daredevil. But of course neither of those made it all the way here with me, just a spoon." It's a change of topic that's purposeful, trying to gracefully change away from the comment that Matt might be embarrassed to have said.
no subject
"You can ask for them back. That spoon collects a magic called Lore," he explains, slipping into his courtroom voice just a little bit. "It's money. You use it to buy things here but you can also ask to get things from home."
Matt might get his Daredevil suit one of these days. He's mostly focused on getting his adaptive technology brought here. His Relic has adaptations but he really wants the other tools that help with his day to day life.
"As we're talking here we're both collecting Lore. But the time this conversation ends you probably won't have enough but if you keep talking to people, you'll get enough." He knows her preference for being alone. Well, he knows his Elektra's preference. She can be social but she holds herself back from crowds.
There are only a few people who's company she genuinely likes.
no subject
It doesn't last long as he continues the explanation in his expert courtroom voice. There are so many times when her Matthew would have driven her crazy by the way he spoke to her, but this one is kid, and it doesn't feel like he's treating her poorly. Just that he's trying to help her exist in this place and that's nice. He's right though, Elektra doesn't love talking to strangers, unless it's flirting with one to get something she wants from them.
"Since you said you don't have it here and I can't find out myself, what's your suit look like?" she asks out of curiosity. He looks so different then her Matt yet has so many similarities it's like her brain is trying to work things out and the more info that will be easier to imagine.
no subject
"It's a kevlar blend with some hard plates in vulnerable places. The last one I had made was yellow and red, or uh, more gold yellow? I wanted to honor my dad's boxing colors. The most recent one is back to red though. The red hides me better at night."
The human eye is really bad at telling red and black apart. He blends better into the shadows in an all red suit than one with touches of yellow. His dad would understand the color change.
"The mask has small horns, of course." He puts his fingers like little horns by where they are, smiling a little. "In my world there's a pretty good business of fashion designers making suits for heroes and vigilantes."
no subject
"Kevlar is smart, I bet it's a good mix of protection versus the ability to move around by how you describe it." It's tempting to ask if he means people like Janet VanDyne but his world seems so different from hers, he doesn't even know Captain America apparently, that it's probably not worth explaining that there's a super hero fashion designer anyways.
"Mine is more much flexible. Flowy pants, a cowl, soft and ninja inspired for sneaking about. Guess I'm always a little bit of a girl in the shadows at heart," she explains and reaches for his forearm to put it on her own forearm to feel the wrist wraps and up past her elbow just a tiny bit to feel the soft flexible fabric. This is a lighter version for summer in the city.
"I have some out of some colder weather material too for winter."
no subject
Her outfit sounds better for what she's good at: sneaking. She's so light on her feet that everyone else rarely hears her footsteps. Matt, of course, is cheating and knows when she's around no matter how light and quiet her steps are.
"You'll need that for Wintermute. It's snowy and always cold. The opposite of this place." He's not in the best clothes for the desert but Matt's been trained. He willfully pushes the misery of the heat out of his mind.
no subject
"Does this place always function on such dichotomies?" she asks, intrigued by the knowledge of the new location. "Like you're tell me the that there's a hellish desert and a frozen tundra? Here I am with horns being greeted by a man with a halo is everything so extreme in differences?"
Her eyes glance up at Matt's halo when she mentions it. She's pretty sure she absolutely would be more bothered by that then the horns anyways. Her hair hides them well enough and she can't argue that once people have known her in real life a lot of people have looked at her like she has horns or a tail.
no subject
"There's a city that floats in the sky and one completely underwater. A lush farming area and a desolate swamp. It's... it's a fantasy land with spirits. Everything is very... simple. Grey is hard to find."
Not that he's looking, exactly. Matt knows the people here, the Star Children as they're called, are a lot more complex than horns and halos.
"It's understood by everyone, I think, that those divides don't mean much besides different abilities and you know, accessories." He waves vaguely to his head and the halo.
no subject
"What sort of traits does a familiar have then?" It's an odd question to ask someone who can't actually see people, but she assumes that someone has probably mentioned this to Matt in someway or another over his time here if he's pointing it out.
"You realize that you will look absolutely hilarious if you ever get your horns with that combination right? I wonder if that will cause some sort of like, glitch in the system if it goes against everything they're trying to display..." Elektra's voice wanders a little like she's clearly thinking about the complexities of it all.
no subject
He chuckles and concentrates. If there's one thing, one life lesson he's learned again and again it's how to harness his willpower. He typically uses it to block out sounds, smells, and the sensory overload that's assaulting him every hour of every day.
Right now he uses it to make the halo above his head disappear. "It's hard to know when it's there. I can barely perceive it but I can make it disappear if I don't want it out. You can probably do the same with your horns if you focus."
Stick trained them both in focus and will.
no subject
It's interesting to watch him concentrate on that and watch it disappear and then back. She supposes she should be able to do it with practice. She doesn't know this Matthew, but generally in her own world she finds that she tends to be the the one of them who's able to concentrate more, to have more focus, she's even trained Matt when he'd lost his footing past accident herself.
"Focus always seems to be the key doesn't it. I don't know if I even need to bother, people often look at me like I'm a terrifying demon for most of my life," she doesn't add that Matthew was occasionally one of them. Of course he was also one of the only people to ever truly see her anyways. The irony of it all.
no subject
He imagines this Elektra is much the same.
"No one will judge you for the horns here. In fact, Tony Stark has horns. You'll be among good company." Matt hasn't met the man but he's heard about him from others.
no subject
"I fear that might not bring the assurance you were hoping for, but the attempt is charming none-the-less," she says stealing another glance at him. It's hard not to be charmed by the effort he's made to make he feel comfortable. She's not sure that there's a person in this world that would be stranger to meet an alternate version of then Matthew Murdock.
"If we get to know each other better sometime, ask me later about the time that I led Tony Stark on a chase through Paris during the G8," her voice perks up a little as she says it, obviously amused by some sort of story behind it.