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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
I'm a witch.
( it's just that simple. she's thoughtful, walking a little around his garage, stalling more than anything. rowena doesn't actually need the salt, though ingredients would make her spell more powerful she'll make do )
If you have iron place it around the doorways. I can ward this building from ghosts.
( her eyes flash purple as she finishes speaking, starting to draw on her magic, turning to face the door that they'd come through. latin words flow from her, the spell short but repeated, a hand outstretched as if in direction. and maybe, when she lowers her hand again, he might assume she's done )
no subject
Tony clears his throat. ] I'll put some tools down at the entrances. [ Which he pops off to do while she chants. And her eyes glow. He idly wonders if the witch thing meant she was closer to Wanda in Scope of Powers. ]
Had a friend kinda like you, once. Hers was red. [ He says gesturing at his eyes as he puts a wrench down by the front door. ]
no subject
Eyes tell much about a person.
( and red eyes for her were not the signs of a witch. red eyes were a demon... or lucifer. neither were particularly excellent options )
You're certain she was a witch?
( and her own eyes are now hazel again with her spell complete )
no subject
[ Tony sighs, makes an irritated little clicking sound with his forked tongue. ] I'll be straight with you, I'm no expert on magic; more of a- STEM kinda guy. But I've seen enough shit at this point, in this place, that I'm bettin' magic comes in every color of the damn rainbow.
no subject
but maybe it's his lucky day: he's met a witch that's willing to talk about magic. so she steps closer to him, close enough to talk but not enough to help him with any of the tools. she did her part )
Magic does come in all manner of things, though that's dependent on the being using it.
( and she supposes there were colours to it if you squinted enough. after all, archangels eyes, demonic eyes, her eyes... most witches didn't change eye colour )
Human magic, the magic witches uses, is different to the magic an angel or a demon may use. Spells can be used by all but they tend to have their own powers.
no subject
You're gonna get a real kick outta this place if you know angels and demons. [ He says with a laugh loud and ostentatious enough that he shows off the fangs that his canine teeth have become, the way his tongue was forked. ] Just don't call any of us demons, and you probably won't have an issue. [ And indeed, Tony's Myth features certainly did make him look like quite the stereotypical picture of a demon, with the two pointed horns mostly hidden in his hair, sticking out just barely past his locks. ] I'm still very much human, underneath all this.
no subject
My dear, demon isn't the word for you. Monster is what a hunter might say, similar maybe to a vetala, though more pleasant.
( both to look at and in manner )
Though you're likely something I've never met before... or are turning into something.
no subject
But I'm what's known as a "Myth" 'round these parts. [ A beat. ] Everyone ends up with a designation. Myths tend to grow horns, and claws. Legends tend to grow wings, get halos. And Familiars turn into woodland critters and scurry off into the forest, so far as I can tell.
[ A beat. He smirks. ] Maybe you'll turn into a black cat.
no subject
I could turn you into a cat, let you hiss at the ghosts yourself.
( joke's on rowena for what she doesn't know. at least she's only about 10% serious, she's not actually feeling the urge to transform him into an animal.
she will step more back into the shop though, finding something to sit on and looking entirely too comfortable for how primly she's sat on the seat )
So... in your assumptions myths are more demonic, legends are angelic and familiars are witches?
no subject
[ He settles down and leans against a counter across from her, arms crossed. ] Essentially that's the gist, yeah. I have a few running theories for why people are selected for whichever one, but- I'm sure you'll have a few theories of your own in no time. After all, you already have a better understanding of this shit than I do. [ And he wasn't scared to admit that. In fact, he was laughing, crooked smile on his face.
It doesn't take much mirth to trigger his own magical ability that he's gained here; various mushroom species spring up more or less in a circle around him, poking out of a few cracks in the concrete floor to show themselves. He barely reacts to them now. ]
no subject
( she was going to tell him something in his assumption that he was wrong about until she noticed the mushrooms starting to sprout )
I assume that's your magic?
( says the supposed human man. unless it's just how weird this universe was )
no subject
[ Tony shrugs. ] Before you ask, I don't get it either. [ But he can give her the information he does have. ] Got killed by some fairies and came back to life the next morning able to do this. [ He says, gesturing at a chanterelle with his foot. ]
no subject
A curse?
( maybe? one that granted magic? though what else did it do to him, especially since he'd died? how was this magic affecting him? )
What happened with this fairies in detail?
no subject
[ Another beat. ] Why? Do you think you can fix it?
no subject
( after removing the mark of cain she's pretty certain that no curse is beyond her. and she's more powerful now than she was then. if she knows what it is she can remove it )
I don't have my usual resources but I have a spell that can take a look at you, to tell me what exactly this curse is. If you want to be free of the mushrooms that is.
no subject
And ruin my ability to make dinner for nothing? [ He smirks, like he doesn't care, like there isn't a war going on in his head over what he should do next. ] I dunno. It's a pretty sweet perk.
no subject
The offer's there. ( said as if it might not be there forever but honestly it would be if he asked. she has no reason not to at least examine him. magical curiosity would win )
If you'd had the choice... would you have learned some magic?
no subject
For the longest time, I didn't even believe it existed. [ He starts off. ] But- Yeah. I probably would have liked learning it on my own. [ Tony lets out a slightly disparaging laugh before saying ] Assuming I could learn it on my own. [ A beat. ] Heard it takes a lot of work and study. [ Implying it would take a long time, but then, Tony knows himself well enough to know that he'd get obsessive and try to learn everything quickly. ]
no subject
( she's not outright saying she'd offer to teach him but if he read between the lines he wouldn't be wrong )
Having the right incantation and a properly prepared spell helps even if you don't naturally have any power. Humans can still perform some feats of magic.
no subject
So it's a lot of memorization and prep work, huh? [ He says idly. That was at least something Tony knew he was good at; magic or tech, he figures they can't be all that different if it's just memorizing incantations and getting the right spells made. And, more important than all that, maybe in that case he could integrate magic into the Mark L somehow... ] Do you know how to, uh- [ What would it be called...? ] Enchant? [ That would probably be the technical jargon, right? ] Like imbue something that isn't magical with magic?
no subject
( to save memorisation. but he does have the right idea of it: prep work, memorisation, there was much more to being a witch than just being able to read the spell.
his next question has her curious )
I can. Though I'd want to know more before I did.
no subject
[ After all, why not figure out the way to enchant all his shit on his own? There were absolutely zero downsides here. ]
no subject
I could.
( a pause, taking a few more seconds to think on this )
But if I did teach you about magic it would be more than just one spell.
no subject
I think you'll find I'm an exemplary student. [ Lies and slander. ]
no subject
( a very big if at this point. there was a big difference between enjoying his conversation and training him )
Though you haven't yet given me a reason why.
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