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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
"We are both in need of help, which I hazard is Thirteen's point. She often forces us into situations to face obstacles of her fabrication." She also often wished them to bond, or at least meet.
"I've heard of Valeria." It was a start, though it was possible more than one reality had a land by such a name.
no subject
Which was actually pretty bizarre, seeing a Valeria was the cultural and (in some ways) spiritual heart of the realm. Tranns still wasn't used to the funny looks and blank stares she got when mentioning it.
Honestly, a part of her was kind of relieved. Her past was dust. No connection to the royal family. No connection to the shit that she'd gone through because of who and what she was.
Still. He was an Elf. Seemed unrealistic to expect that there wouldn't be one or two around here.
no subject
"Do you know a woman named Ariadne?"
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She could quite reasonably and easily deny it. Valeria was an enormous kingdom and she and Airy hadn't even lived there for years. And Tranns had always felt a little bit protective of the kid. Not that she was much of one any more.
Still. As Aden would be quick to remind her, logic immediately dictated that if this guy asked the question, that meant he knew Airy. Or something about her. That same protectiveness meant that Tranns needed to learn more.
"Five foot two? Impossibly beautiful? Total disaster if you let her anywhere near a kitchen?" She decided to keep some of the more personal details quiet, particularly the fact that her friend was Alastrian. You never knew who might have a problem with that. Tranns folded her arms. "I doubt there are two of them in all of existence."
no subject
"I would be overwhelmed if there were. She doesn't speak of home." There was nothing accusatory in his tone, of course. He was not one to talk about playing their cards close, though he was beginning to open up to her. Maybe he could convince her to do the same.
no subject
If he knew her, did that mean she was here too? Tranns could see why the Fox would pick someone like her.
And how did she feel about having someone from home around?
...not great exactly, truth be told. Tranns had sort of been hoping to get away from her life. That had been a big part of the appeal.
No, no, it wasn't possible. There was no way Airy would leave her life in Shaldani behind.
"How the hell do you know Airy?" she asked. It was a friendly question. Not accusatory. Genuinely curious. "Are you..." She struggled to find a way to place him. "Are you one of the refugees she rescued?" That made the most sense, she supposed. There were Elves in Shaldani. Plus, Airy sometimes got up to unsanctioned missions while the rest of them were sleeping.
no subject
Even so, he shook his head. "No. I am no refugee, nor am I native to your world. Ariadne and I are...companions." It marked one of the first times he'd used the term with another, and it still fit, Drizzt being unable to keep the slight smile from touching his lips.
no subject
It couldn't mean what she thought it meant, right? Even with a smile like that? It could mean anything. Anything else...
Well, all right. It made one thing alarmingly clear. "Airy is here," she said. And no, her voice sure as shit didn't go up at the end. That wasn't a question, not anymore. Tranns shook her head a little bit, turning her face to the sky. That unmistakable fondness lingered. Even if Tranns had kind of been hoping for a fresh start. "Of course, Airy's here." As if she should have guessed it. "Who better to bring into this place than the chosen one of the powers that be?"
Oh, bloody hell. That must have meant Phil was here too.
Airy, she could deal with. Phil, however, might be a problem.
no subject
"What do you mean by that?" Airy had never mentioned anything of the sort, even something remotely similar, but they hadn't really spoken about their roles in their worlds, had they? Perhaps they should change that.
no subject
It did occur to her that she was being a little bit careless with Airy's story. But considering the fact that she and Airy and the others were all kind of minor celebrities--despite all of Aden's best efforts at anonymity--it wasn't exactly anything secret.
Besides, if the two of them were...companions?--whatever that meant--the obviously he must have...
Okay, well, maybe he didn't know.
Tranns ground her back teeth a little. "She musta mentioned it," she said cautiously. "It was years ago."
no subject
"Perhaps she has come from your world more years ago." But he was curious. "What happened to cause such a thing?"
no subject
That didn't stop her from feeling pretty fucking embarrassed, though.
Absently, she turned from him to study the cavern wall. An excuse to hide the heat flushing her face. She'd pretty much made the number one rookie mistake. Normally, she'd pick this moment to run as far away from it as possible. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nowhere to run.
"A few years ago," she said, praying that Airy would forgive her for what she was about to divulge, "I don't know, maybe four, five years...there was no sign of trouble or anything. It was kind of a normal day, I think. Our strike team had just returned from a patrol through Shaldani." She supposed context would help, but getting into the weeds would probably open the door to even more questions. "Phil--our captain--walked into a room and found Airy unconscious on the floor. No pulse, but she was breathing." Gods, that had been scary. There wasn't a single person in the House who wasn't totally freaked.
Tranns would never admit it, but she was about as scared about what Phil might do as for Airy's well-being, for half a second or two. Their warrior leader was not exactly a calm presence.
"She woke up and couldn't remember what happened. We took her to an oracle," who was living in their attic, no getting into that, right now, "who said that the divine had chosen Airy to balance the scales. A force of good to counter the unexpected rise of something...someone...well, I don't use the word lightly...evil."
no subject
"Does this divinity have a name?" He wouldn't be able to ask Ariadne about any of this if he never freed them from this endless maze, of course, but there was always an exit to Thirteen's tests, they merely needed to find it
no subject
Well, no wonder the gods had chosen Airy instead of her. She was a better person. Everyone knew it. Or, at least, everyone who spent so much as a minute in Airy's presence.
Absently, she continued to poke and prod at the wall. Really, she wasn't expecting results at the moment. "Airy's a Mudorist, like me. But there are a shit ton of divinities out there with a vested interest in, you know, not letting evil win. Anyway, whoever it was, didn't really have anything to take from Airy. None of us have real lives. We've been running a safe house for a couple of years. The god or whatever wasn't asking her to do anything she wasn't already doing, I guess."
Hopefully, that was some comfort. Most of the other Phoenix Fighters were choosing that interpretation. Phil probably had his own ideas, but he didn't like to share with the class.
"So far...I mean, nothing's really changed for us in a long time." There were moments of abject horror and precious few victories. But they always sort of returned to a status quo, treading water like always. "Airy's still Airy. Just...I don't know, like you said, living without living?"
no subject
"Are you not certain it was your god who chose her?" How as that possible?
no subject
Like so many other things involving faith, it was less something she could explain and more something she could feel. They could feel. Everyone in the Phoenix House.
Except for Phil, maybe. But he didn't really give a shit, at the time.
"I wonder if it's connected to the Fox here," she muttered. "That would make some kind of sense, maybe."
no subject
"It may be, but the Fox...is a point of contention between she and I." He didn't trust Thirteen, thought her an evil goddess if a true goddess at all, but Airy felt differently.
no subject
It was...a fucking lot. A lot to take in, a lot to pointedly ignore. Tranns was good at both of these, although not always at the same time.
Anyway, if she took any offense at his assumption, she didn't show it. It was more surprise that someone who looked so Elf-like wouldn't know about the Triad. That was just super weird. But whatever. Weird was as close as she got to a middle name.
With a half-hearted kick, she gave up on the wall, turning back to face Drizzt again. "I wasn't exactly expecting anyone from home here. But I guess if Airy's around, Phil must be too?"
no subject
If any friend of Airy's arrived and she was aware of it, she likely would have introduced them. "Though I supposed it's possible they arrived when you did. New Star Children fall in groups."
no subject
That made no sense.
Tranns frowned thoughtfully. "Exactly how long has this place existed?" she asked. "I mean, how long has the whole 'new arrival' thing been going on?" Obviously, she wasn't part of the first group of Star Children (a name she kind of liked). Hard not to feel a little like someone's second choice.
But time mechanics were always a little loopy.
no subject
"Longer than I have been here to see it. I know some have been here years, Ariadne among them."
To Drizzt, the selection seemed more cyclic, as though the Fox decided in rotation who she would offer the journey to.
"Who is Phil?" A matter of curiosity, really.
no subject
Part of it was her brain working overtime to try to fill in all the gaps to this story.
But right. Phil. Okay.
"He's our captain," she said, slumping against the wall. "An incredible warrior. Has the act of brooding perfected to an arm form. All kinds of guilt and angst swirling around inside of him day after day." She paused. "He also just happens to be hopelessly, passionately, disgustingly in love with Airy."
no subject
This needed to wait.
"I see." He swallowed before raising his chin, decided. "We should escape this place." He was probably telling more than he intended with his non-reaction.
Jealous? Of course not. He had nothing to be jealous of.
no subject
That was weird. But it was weird for Tranns. She hadn't meant to make it weird for this perfectly nice stranger.
But how...
"Timelines." She answered her own question. Whether or not she meant to answer it out loud was uncertain, but she realized she had a second later. Great job, Tranns. The tragic part was that she really was normally better with people than this. Certainly better with people than Aden.
Well, her whole 'what would Aden do' strategy wasn't exactly working, was it?
"Sorry," she said. "I think I fucked up."
no subject
He was digressing.
"No. You have nothing to apologize for. Ariadne and this Phil are both your friends. It is I who is the stranger."
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