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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 โCurrent Character.โ
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.
๐ฆ 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.
๐ฆ 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 doesnโt 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 doesnโt 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 doesnโt 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 wildfireโs 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. Thereโs no pain. In fact, the embers provide sparks of insight into memories, situations, and other emotional dilemmas that Star Children havenโt 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. Itโs 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 oneโs 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 doesnโt 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 doesnโt 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 doesnโt 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 wildfireโs 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. Thereโs no pain. In fact, the embers provide sparks of insight into memories, situations, and other emotional dilemmas that Star Children havenโt 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 oneโs 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
[ The name Epiphany means nothing to him in terms of location but the idea of avoiding any place here or limiting his experience in any way will be clearly ignored. How can he when he's clearly been brought here for a purpose? ]
Have you considered for even a moment that there might be a reason all of us are collectively in the same place again?
[ Arthur gives a small shrug mostly to himself. ]
Food for thought.
no subject
[She is far from kind towards him, nor does she think he will really avoid them. He should, his precious crocodile isn't here to protect him.]
I've been here longer, I know what's going on here better than you do and I will say that the Fox isn't some magnanimous being that brought us here for any good reason. We're batteries for her world to be used and discarded when we're not useful anymore.
[Then she shrugs too before spitting out:]
Food for thought.
i'm so sorry for this dramatic ass man /o\
The phrase hits Arthur harder than he would think it did. He frowns. First Khonshu, Ammit, now a fox. He settles down into a sitting position on the ground not caring how odd it may appear. ]
I'm not sure if I can go for a round three with that.
[ The flames show a different man getting into the Moon Knight suit; Arthur sees himself then, haggard, tired and worn thin. Khonshu waking him in some blur of a montage repeatedly like a haunting.
The flames recede away from both Arthur and Layla. As they roll away they carry with them the face of Ammit reminding Arthur that he's not worthy to live in her version of the world.
All his work and devotion. For what? ]
By this point it appears very likely that my life is some kind of sick joke.
I loove him
She watches the flames, of him being for Khonshu, for Ammit. They roll away and are gone, embers now, to be carried on the wind.]
Why are men so melodramatic. [She mutters as she sighs and decides to be... "nicer."]
Look, it sucks, but of the three she might not be the worst of them. Just get used to being uncomfortably open and having to really... and I mean really look at yourself, your actions, your past, all of it with a fine tooth comb and realize what you don't want to see if going to be shown to you and other people.
[THat was about the kindest thing she could say to him. The nicest thing she can offer, all while saying it with venom in her mouth.]
Everyone's life here is a sick joke. Get over yourself.
no subject
Layla's words are taken in. Arthur furrows his brow at the thought of being open with other people-- hasn't he done this? Is it never enough?
The tone of Layla's voice suggests she's not the welcome wagon and questions aren't exactly welcome. By the same token she hasn't left either--
He cants his head slightly in her direction, world-weary but intrigued. ]
I'm going to assume the place isn't always on fire? And that you have some sort of wonderful life going on here, some existence of making eggs for Marc using vegan butter that you defend?
no subject
Annoying.
No, she wasn't the welcome wagon, but she wasn't so cruel to leave him without anything when he's sitting in the middle of the sidewalk like some entitled prick.]
No, it's not. I wouldn't call it wonderful, but between trials, it's not half bad here. [For what should be a perfectly neutral sentence, she says them like they are fighting words.]
The housing is free, shit is pretty cheap, you can make a decent life here, all you have to do is play her games like rats in a maze. Some months are worse than others, sometimes they're downright ignorable.
no subject
Almost. ]
You're a really terrible liar, you know.
[ He doesn't match her tone in spite which, he realizes, probably makes her just as irate. He's been as bitter as she currently is, but at the moment things are overwhelming enough without the familiar faces.
What he does not know is currently his best course of action is not getting punched by anyone. He's got to find his feet before he decides on how to proceed. ]
Look, you don't have to worry about any threat from me. I realize that means nothing to you, but I find your husband incredibly off-putting.
[ There's a hint of the venom in his voice. ]
I understand this is an opportunity to...improve.
no subject
[she rolls her eyes because she really doesn't like it here, but she does have Marc and Steven and she does have... something of a life here. It wasn't much of anything, but it was something and that's what matters.]
Just don't want to see you shooting him again. Witnessing that once already is enough for me. [And technically again in the fire but...]
If you want to believe that, then do it. She says she wants us to reach our potential, good or bad, so how you want to interpret that is up to you.
no subject
[ His hands are out to his sides, palms open to indicate he has, in fact, nothing. She has her reasons, he supposes, to have her guard up but at the moment? Even now Arthur himself knows he's quite helpless. ]
If that is truly the purpose of this place, I won't let the balance of my own scales be dictated by the fate of your husband.
[ He sighs impatiently as he tries to reign himself back in. These people-- they truly test his patience. It's shameful. ]
I propose a truce-- and acknowledge your desire to be left alone.
no subject
So for now, with a heavy sigh, she nods.]
Fine, a truce. Do your best to stay away from us and I will do the same. I can't speak for Marc and Steven, but I'm more than happy to give you a very wide berth.
no subject
After a moment Arthur looks up at her almost sheepish. He doesn't move his legs, one arm resting on his knee while the other extends itself outwards towards her. It's an offer to not only shake on the agreement but also indicating something else. He tries to make it evident that he can't get up without the leverage of something. He could scramble around to find a wall to pull himself up by but would an avatar of Taweret really leave a man here in the street left to his own devices?
Yeah. He knew he was putting you in this position, Layla.]no subject
She really thinks about it. Fuck she wants to leave him on the ground helpless and having to find a way up on his own. She doesn't want to shake on it, she doesn't want to help him up.
But was she that petty?
For a long moment, she leaves him hanging, waiting him out for a second, but when she looks like she might be about to take his hand, she slaps it away.]
That's for killing my husband.
[She walks away without another word. Yeah, she's that petty.]