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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 was still a far cry from being a Queen of Earth, but the resemblence was much clearer now. Those eyes that looked at him with detestment and hate, Demande couldn't contain the mirth that was kindled within, a laugh escaping as he stood before her.
"Still refusing to accept that destruction and loss is a natural part of the world. Looking down on those who don't flock to your light, who reach out for your salvation. But what harm is really being done?"
Stepping closer he reached out to the flame.
"A fire that doesn't kill, and yet you still want to stop it from cleansing this land?"
no subject
She took a deep breath, then another before looking at the fire and taking some of it into her palm, holding it out to him. Maybe she should slap him with it, then it could hurt.
"And you're still refusing to consider anyone other than yourself and what only concerns you. Just because it doesn't hurt us doesn't mean it doesn't affect others." She gestured to the many buildings and plants on fire, the fleeing animals. "There are those crying out for help and pleading to be saved, but you have made it very clear that you don't care because it doesn't affect you." Her eyes narrowed and she turned away from him.
"Enjoy your false sense of superiority, but stay out of my way, Demande," she spread out her wings. She didn't bother to threaten him, she would just end him if he attempted something towards her.
no subject
He didn't flinch from the fire, watched as she held it, finding it oddly suiting for her. It was a vision that he could almost come to appreciate, to enjoy seeing though he knew that she would never truly embrace such a destructive thing.
"I have made no effort to stop you. And it does involve, as one who has only just arrived with little more purpose that to see clearly. One that was tasked to pledge to preserve balance."
He gestured to the burning buildings, the plants, the fleeing spririts.
"For growth, destruction, for life, death, for light, dark. Perhaps I was only brought here to preserve such. But if you are trying so hard to save what others cling to, what do you suppose might happen to balance such an act?"
no subject
She spread out her wings.
"You being here," she scowls. "I don't know why the Fox brought you here," she watched as the flames seemed to get... smaller? What? The sight of the flames getting smaller made her stop what she was going to say and they went back to being bright and unwieldy.
no subject
After all, had the fox not spoken about the need for balance, and it seemed there was far too much light and good in this place. Too many heroes fighting to stop what was the natural order. He glanced at the flames as they descended a bit with the words that she spoke.
"Perhaps she brought me here because of you, that you being here is what drove Thirteen to bring me to this world as well. If you wonder if we're being asked if we would save them, but what purpose does it have if there is no threat to ourselves in doing so. There is no danger or sacrifice in what you are doing, it is a meaningless gesture and simple facade. It doesn't prove what you are willing to do."
Taking another step, he reached out towards the flames, images of the moonkingdom appearing in them.
"You may have grown, but do you really believe yourself that worthy? Fighting to save a few buildings, sentimental belongings, spirits that are meant for a fate besides the one you choose for them. Is it because of the destruction that couldn't be prevented? I see the fire in your eyes, the determination, and it is but a spark of what I saw then. You may have grown, but are you worthy of being her?"
The flames danced back a little, dying out just a bit. That wasn't what he cared about though, whether this world burned to the ground or the spirits were saves, none of that was what he considered important.
no subject
"I do not care if you think I am worthy. You do not dictate my worthiness," heaven forbid she EVER look to him to decide such a thing. "I decide my worthiness. Learn to live with disappointment, Demande, I am her, and it will always be me who decides that."
no subject
"How could I be disappointed. It's not a helpless, clueless girl that I wanted to see kneel before me, but the one bearing the full power of the silver crystal. So that once I have her, there will no doubting the power of the black crystal, and will ensure the future of the Black Moon Clan."
He took another step forward, now just out of arms reach.
"Watching you come closer and closer to her is far from disappointing, it's satisfying that I will once again get to be there with you Neo Queen Serenity."
Only this time she wouldn't escape to a prison of crystal.
"You can deny it all you want, I was the one to help to bring your desires to fruition. Those crying out to you are safe, for now."
no subject
She turned to look at the embers, smoke rising into the air and she pressed her lips together.
"I have no intention of denying it." She let the light of the Tiare fade and let it disappear. "Who knows, Demande, maybe there is far more good in you than the darkness you claim to be in me."
no subject
"And maybe there is the seed of darkness in you just waiting for the right time to grow. I do look forward to when we have the answer."
Looking out over the charred remains that were now just embers,
"And what did it cost to prevent me last time? Things may not have gone as I wanted, but in the end was it what you wanted either? That perfect kingdom that you envisioned, or was it tarnished by the truth of what it would mean to achieve it? The sacrifices that would have to be made?"
no subject
At the question of what it cost her and if it was how she wanted, she might as well tell him the truth.
"I'm not there in my timeline yet, Demande, but the past has changed, and so too, will the future. It is what I and my loved ones will make of it. It's what I decide, not what has been decided for me. Not by anyone, you or otherwise."
no subject
Why is it only you and those under that have the right to decide the future of all?"
It was that very thinking that had lead to the revolt in the first place. For one being, one person, to claim authority and right to decide and rule over all.
no subject
"Well, no matter what is ultimately decided, you won't get to be around to find out about it, Demande." The Amazon Quartet, Chibiusa having been awoken, and all of it, happening now, in the past.
She had no intention of doing things the same way as her future self, which meant if Demande did get reborn, this version would be irrelevant. Though, she was tempted to make him irrelevant right now.
no subject
He was here now, even after what should have been his demise here they were face to face once more. In a world that was neither of theirs, a place where they were promised an opportunity to reach their full potential.
"I will alwyas be a part of what is to come, you will never be rid of me."
no subject
"You're so sure, but you changed the future, and then I kept changing it. Don't think for a second I'll let you be part of what's to come."
She spread out her wings, done with him and this stupid conversation. She had more people to save and he clearly wasn't going to willingly help.