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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.
(CW: underage drinking)
Re: (CW: underage drinking)
He cringes at the description of what might happen. It sounds awful, but it is pretty much what he’s afraid of.
“I ended up in a desert with a lot of selkies,” he says. As an enthusiast of learning about other cultures, he knows what they are. “I was kinda fascinated to find they’re real, so I asked them a few questions before leaving. A ghost directed me inside the first building in town. Some more ghosts were nice, but a couple wanted to kill me. Then I came in here.”
(CW: underage drinking)
Lexi thinks she's ready for the worst, but she's used to the Pthumerians needing them as much as they needed them. The fox? Remained an unknown.
"Oh. Cool, selkies. Like the old folk tales where they could take off their skin and seem human, but they needed their skins so douchebags would take them away and be all 'a ha, I have your weakness, now you have to do what I tell you!' Which usually involved sex. Gross." What was it with all folklore, leaving women in the vulnerable positions? She'd say it was bullshit that the 21st century overcame, but 50 Shades was a thing.
"That's all kinds of yikes. The ghosts, at least. What the fuck is up with places like this wanting to kill us on a regular basis? I really shoulda read the fine print," Lexi lamented.
Re: (CW: underage drinking)
He nodded. "Yeah, those." He grimaced at the rest of her summary of selkie tales. "Funny how people complain about modern media not having any morals when stories like that were ... kinda happening all through the ages."
He sighed and smirked darkly. "If I'd known what I was really in for, I'm sure I would've told the Fox to go jump in a lake."
(CW: underage drinking)
"I know, right? It's weird how people are protesting books like 'Heather has two mommies' while not saying a think about how many dirty jokes there are in Shakespeare. It's dumb." Granted, there was a chance that the book banners couldn't understand the jokes. Most people couldn't without SparkNotes helping them along.
She smiled ruefully. "No kidding. Well, it's not my first time on a world away from home and there's a decent chance it won't be my last."
Re: (CW: underage drinking)
"I quite agree," he says. "And some of the stories all the way back to the days of Greek myths are just ... yikes. Yet no one seems to complain about those."
He looks wistful. "Well, hopefully we'll both make it home for real eventually."
(CW: underage drinking, dub/non-con in Greek myths referenced)
"Of course they don't. 'Cause those are called classics instead of thinly veiled escapades in, well. Not gonna go there. Even if you limit things to cheating, it's still gross," she said and made a grossed out face.
"Sure, eventually. It's kinda fun to see how different things can be. And how the same they are in other ways. I'm in no big hurry." Which was true. Home meant Suze and dealing with whatever catastrophe was going on in Cassie's life this time. Sure, she had her play but would people actually watch it?
Re: (CW: underage drinking, dub/non-con in Greek myths referenced)
"Yeah, pretty much. People have some twisted ideas of classics. Definitely gross." He nods.
A bit of a smile. "I like studying other cultures, so meeting people from all over is pretty fun," he admits.
(CW: underage drinking, dub/non-con in Greek myths referenced)
"That's the thing, though. Just because it's a classic, it doesn't mean it's good. I mean, I dare you to read 'Ulysses' by James Joyce and try to give me an elevator pitch for what it's about. It's impossible."
"So do I. My high school was kind of a bubble and it felt like it was going to be impossible to get out of that bubble. Like, everyone was going to go to the same community college and keep rehashing old drama. That's not what I ever wanted for myself."
Re: (CW: underage drinking, dub/non-con in Greek myths referenced)
He laughs. "Yeah, I can think of several like that."
An understanding nod. "I get that. I was raised pretty sheltered, so once I was free to leave, I was anxious to get out and see what everything was like."
(CW: alcoholism, parentification)
"Exactly! Some things are classics for a reason, like pretty much anything Jane Austen wrote and others are because English professors say they are. I was thinking English for college, but I've changed my mind. Theater, all the way," she said decisively. She hadn't realized how much she'd love writing her own play, holding auditions, brainstorming ideas for sets, and everything else involved.
"And I kinda had the opposite, but I still wanna get out there." Suze spent pretty much 100% of her waking hours with a wine bottle in her hand and Cassie...was Cassie. She was more exhausting than a pack of toddlers.
Re: (CW: alcoholism, parentification)
He nods to this. "It's a pretty exciting world, when you find the good parts."
(CW: alcoholism, parentification)
"That's the trick of them all, to find the good parts." Like freedom. Self-determination except for when the powers that be...bid them.
Re: (CW: alcoholism, parentification)
He sobers a bit. "I wish Scotch was here. If he is, I haven't found him yet. But maybe he'll end up here too. Who knows."
A smirk. "Isn't that the truth."
(CW: alcoholism, parentification)
Lexi gave him a sympathetic look before downing the rest of the Maker's and signaling for a third. "I know how that feels, trust me." It was part of the reason why she was drinking so hard, not something she normally did.
But she managed a smile. "That's what I try to do. Find the good parts when everyone else is losing their heads."
Re: (CW: alcoholism, parentification)
He smiled a bit sadly. "I'm sorry you do."
A nod. "Same here. I was usually the voice of calm and reason back home."
(CW: alcoholism, parentification)
"Ehh. Maybe they'll show up, maybe they won't. I learned to not dwell on that too much in Trench." But Lexi is still maudlin at the notion of starting over. Again. At least there's a chance people here will accept her too.
"Oh G-d, I know how that feels. Everyone I knew back home--everyone!--was ears deep in drama. And then they considered me boring!" Maybe she was saving her drama for going away to college or the coming out process? Had anyone ever considered that?
Re: (CW: alcoholism, parentification)
He nods. "That's a good policy. Better just to focus on what's happening and not what you wish was happening."
Another smirk, dry this time. "People love to try involving me in the drama, making up rumors about me and that kinda thing. I had to get used to being the subject of much of the town gossip."
(CW: alcoholism, parentification)
"Mm-hmm. I mean, I can't change the fact that I'm here, but I can change my reaction to it. Especially since this is my second world and it seems very...cute?" She had her eye on a cottage, one she could decorate fully to her tastes like she had in Trench.
"That's rude. Making up stories about people is pretty shitty. I mean, how do you prove a negative in that you didn't do whatever they said you did? It's asking a lot," she said firmly. Seriously, gossip was such a pain in the ass and 99% of the time, it was more trouble than it was worth.
Re: (CW: alcoholism, parentification)
He nods. "It's definitely an interesting place. I'm not sure I've seen anything I'd call cute yet, but there's so much to see."
He totally agrees on this. "Most of the time I couldn't prove it, and even when I could, they rarely listened. It was always a surprise to me what they'd decide I did next. Being a chain smoker was probably one of the most bizarre rumors. I've never touched the things."
(CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
"The ice mice are cute," she maintained. "Besides, with the exception of Argonaut, Trench was chock full of eldritch abominations. I'll take cute and Taylor Swift." Even though she never had been a Taylor Swift fan, couldn't she write about something other than relationships? Which was probably why Cassie was a fan.
"Good. Cigarettes stink to high heaven. Even if the stupid things weren't addictive and terrible, I wouldn't wanna go anywhere near 'em." She stuck out her tongue and made a face.
Re: (CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
"Ice mice? I don't think I've seen those yet. I'm not the biggest rodent fan, but I agree, I'll take mice over eldritch abominations any day." A smirk.
And a bigger smirk. "Exactly. And anyone who's actually been around me should know that I don't stink." He's a very clean person; his clothes aren't torn and greasy as is an unfortunate stereotype of bikers.
(CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
"Exactly! Though, I've always thought mice were cute. I'd look at them in their cages at PetSmart and wish I could bring one home. Mom and Cassie would freak, though." And she couldn't imagine sharing a room with Cassie and mice. Cassie would never.
Lexi took a sniff. "Yeah, you smell like laundry detergent. Which is a good thing!"
Re: (CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
A laugh. "Yeah, that was loco. I've seen some of those ads too." He also enjoyed old things, so it was fun to discuss them with someone who knew about them too.
He nodded. "I suppose they look cute, sure. They really wreak havoc if they get loose in your house, though."
A smirk. "Oh, I quite agree."
(CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
She grinned broadly. "I know! You're left kind of going 'who thought this was a good idea?' And then 'who thought getting rid of that was a good idea?' The mysteries are endless." She was having fun, too. She had taken some serious steps away from being Lexi, who was never allowed to get a word in edgewise and into Lexi, someone appreciated entirely for herself.
"That's probably true. Still doesn't keep me from thinking they're cute." Strangely, Trench never seemed to have mice. Rats, yes, mice? No.
"I probably smell like death and sweat after all of that bull with the fires." But it was okay. She was never the type to wear perfume or even body spray from Bath & Body Works.
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CW: Mention of disowning
CW: Mention of disowning, police, police prejudice, murder in the context of film
Re: CW: Mention of abuse, police, police prejudice, murder in the context of film
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