![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
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
[ It doesn't really matter what Steven calls him: Arthur has gotten what he wanted. They're both seated and safe. The situation feels civil and that really is the strategy to getting things to deescalate.
At least it is until he's hit with a question that hits him harder than he expects. ]
I can't hear her.
[ It's...a relief to say, if he's being honest. The goddess is an angry one, having tasted freedom after being sealed away for so long. Food and drink were meant to taste like sand in some sort of sedated horror. Failures, shortcomings, all brought to the surface by within, a wrathful and ageless voice that he couldn't assist.
Are those tears welling up in his eyes? He can feel them and quickly summons a hand to heavy-handedly wipe them away before they leave the eye. ]
Sorry. It's been a while since I've had this kind of silence.
no subject
It's for the best. [Blurted out before he can stop himself. Lips press together and Steven frowns, staring at Harrow as he considers everything. Of course, it makes sense Ammit wouldn't join him. It's hard to compare when Khonshu's connection with them was severed prior to arriving (of course, or so he thinks), but he can't imagine the fox would want competition from other major gods.
Or something.]
Maybe you'll find whatever peace you can here. It'll probably be the only opportunity any of us get.
no subject
This? It's something else to focus on. ]
Something happened to you too?
[ Arthur touches the corner of his own eye indicatively to alert Steven that he notices the change. ]
You look the same otherwise.
no subject
Right, yeah, it's part of being a "Legend" here. The Fox told you about all that on your journey here, right? It's unfortunately true too.
[He wrinkles his nose a bit at the thought. He isn't a fan of the physical changes at all, even after all this time.
His gaze eventually falls onto Harrow's wings. He has a pair himself but keeps them hidden.] Must be what role she's assigned you as well. A bunch of bollocks, if you ask me.
no subject
Fortunately the place doesn't seem to run on opinions.
[ There's always a benefit in speaking kindly to Steven. Marc? A lost cause. Steven almost fit in to the compound taking like a fish to water. Disappointing about failing to return the scarab, but the man has been mostly agreeable. ]
I want to thank you for your help.
[ His voice seems to have found his footing, no longer overwhelmed by circumstance. If Steven Grant can survive here then so can he, by the will of Ammit or otherwise.
A rich gold appears in his eyes, one that seems to sparkle and showcase nothing but honesty. Arthur doesn't seem to be aware of it at all at the moment. ]
I plan on making the most of my time here like you said. I owe it to myself to reflect on my actions. Would that be agreeable to you?
[ The gold sours to a sort of reptilian amber before flickering with a red reserved for cautionary signs. ]
no subject
As long as you're not trying to hurt me or anyone else, I don't want to fight you either. We've all done enough of that, yeah? All of us.
['Us' including Harrow too, of course.
He sees that red though - something darker bleeding through the pretty gold. It makes Steven frown harder.]
There's no escape that we know of so who knows how long we'll be stuck together. Thankfully, Folkmore is a big place with lots of places to go. There's a whole underwater city too if you feel like visiting, though that doesn't really seem like your idea of peaceful living.
this brat piece of shh... i'm so sorry.
Classic Steven: to be honest to a fault. It will get him killed again one day. Arthur isn't sure how he feels about that, truthfully, or if he'd even have a part in it. ]
I have no interest in fighting you.
[ The honest gold returns. Then? He laughs, genuinely giddy about something. ]
I mean, you don't even have the suit-- what a sorry scene that would be anyway. Two ordinary people just... fighting in some ruins?
[ He's not going to assume Steven has any powers: there's no reason to. If Steven hadn't taken out any suit while they were running from ghosts then the other man (and Marc, by proxy) is just as vulnerable and unprotected as Arthur is here.
He sighs wistfully. Still funny. ]
I enjoy the city. I've lived in many, some peaceful and some not. But I suppose that sort of thing isn't really relevant. You know me very well already. Clearly.
we love (?) him for it
He shifts in his seat, hands clasping together against his crossed shins so they don't fidget.]
Good. I don't want to fight either. There's no reason to here. [Marc and Layla may feel differently though. Steven has never had much fight in him - not in the physical sense, anyway.]
I only know the man you've chosen to show me. I could be wrong. [He shrugs as if nonchalant about it all, while actually curious who the "real" Arthur Harrow is.] Either way, that place gives "swimming with the fishes" a whole new meaning. You'll find out for yourself soon enough.
[That... wasn't meant to be a threat, he swears.]
no subject
...threatening?
The face before him flickers into one much more hostile, angry but somehow smiling? Just put a hat on him and this is another man entirely: a monster. ]
...Wh--what did you say?
[ His voice is quieter than before...tentative. Going pale is beyond his control, his eyes rapidly changing from their normal blue to gray to red to pale tones of all shades is absolutely impossible to conceal.
Is Steven Grant of the gift shop actually threatening him? ]
no subject
What? I mean, it's an underwater city so... you know... fish live under the sea... there's actual, like, fish people living there too. I suppose they're spirits though, not people but-
[A bit of a nervous laugh there.] It's their territory.
no subject
He laughs despite himself, the first real respite he's had, and shakes his head. The gold flicker is back in his eyes. ]
...You told me to sleep with the fishes, Steven.
[ He sighs, mostly in relief. ]
...I'm going to assume that you've seen the cinematic masterpiece of The Godfather?
[ Don't make him reenact the scene of James Caan looking at the fish in his lap. He might. ]
no subject
I haven't, actually. It's on my bucket list of films to watch! Marc and I-
[Oh. No, no, don't actually finish that sentence, Steven. He clams up quickly and tries to focus on the other half of the situation, blinking at the other man until it clicks. In seconds, Steven's expression shifts into the equivalent of a simple "!" ]
No! No, bloody hell, I didn't mean it like that. [Another laugh! He tries to wave it off as nothing.] I meant literally. You can literally swim with them if you wanted to!
tw: mental illness
Perhaps they watch movies together? Who's he to say. In that respect he's never imagined an average situation or interaction with the two, only situations involving combat really. ]
Hm.
[ Interesting thing to chew on. Perhaps later.
Not a big fan of Marc's though. The less Arthur thinks of him the better: it's hard to think clearly with that
assholeidiotmoronthick-headed son of ahard-headed mercenary around. At this time he can't afford to overlook a thing. ]I should have known. [ He looks entirely relaxed now. ] You're no killer.
no subject
[Though the reaction is suspicious and this entire conversation has him uneasy, mostly because he isn't used to seeing Harrow in a state of distress. It makes him feel so much more human in a way Steven hasn't ever known him.
There's an awkward silence then as Steven shifts in place once more, the fidgeting becoming too much to ignore. It sends him back onto his feet as he heads to one of the hut's windows to peek outside at the strange new town.]
I think it may be safe to get out if we want to get away from here. The further away from this town the better. [He looks over his shoulder to Harrow again.] I can show you where the train station is.
tw: mental illness/drugs
While the eagerness to assist isn't exactly new there is a new boldness in Steven that seems to show through. The man is willing to not only provoke a mob to defend an acquaintance-- maybe time in this place has cultivated some confidence? It's worth noting anyway. ]
No. [ Arthur's tone is decisive and he remains on the floor. ] I'll stay here.
[ It's not a bad idea to follow Steven to the train station and get the proper introduction to this place. Truthfully? He's exhausted, hot, in pain and unsure if the heavy doses of sedatives he's been on are even done cycling through his system. This whole thing could be some sort of elaborate hallucination and he'll just wake up in the same bed of the institution ready to cycle through the same routine. ]
Like you said, nice little plants, a rug.
[ He has no intention of staying here permanently. It's distrust that keeps him from accepting the help, something that manifests as an olive sort of tone in his eyes.
Scooting himself towards the opposite edge of the room clumsily and trying to mind the wings, Arthur rests his back against the wall and settles. Arthur has helped himself through worse situations: this shouldn't be any different. ]
I'll find my way, Steven. Thank you for your help.
no subject
Part of him wants to insist he follows but the man is stubborn enough and Steven isn't his friend, so he won't push it. Besides, he's a Legend, which means he's more durable and may have some added strength too, so Harrow will be just fine. That's what he tells himself as he resigns to leaving the man here, as pathetic and sad as he looks.]
Fine. When you finally do decide to travel, go north until you see the station. It makes one big loop around all the major areas here. On land, anyway.
[He sighs through his nose, still hesitating despite personal gripes, before he grabs for the door.]
Take care, Arthur. [Whether using his first name is intentional or not, Steven will leave it at that, pulling open the door to the oppressive heat of the desert before he disappears on the other side.]