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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: 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.
Re: (CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
But he smiled. "Scotch and the others love to do movie nights all the time. And marathon TV shows they like. Sometimes they'll watch the bad ones and make up their own MSTing for them. They've put some of those up on YouTube. Just the films available in the public domain, that is."
A chuckle. "At least some of those old gems have been preserved. What's really a shame are the things that are lost forever because someone with an itty-bitty brain never thought anyone would want to experience them again. Things like episodes of old radio shows or even some of the original Dr. Who arcs." He wasn't even that into Dr. Who, but he still found it incredibly wasteful and sad that the recordings were lost forever.
"Yeah, they kind of are," he conceded.
He didn't deny this, but said, "I'm sure a lot of people here are in the same boat now. Did you just come from the fires?"
(CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
"See, Doctor Who is one of those things I keep watching and telling myself I like it, but I really don't. I got sick of Rose fast and Matt Smith looks like a handsome foot," she said with a shrug. Hey, foot fetishes were completely cool as long as people admitted to them. They just weren't Lexi's thing.
"Yeah," she sighed and blew a strand of brown hair off of her forehead. "Landed right in the middle, but at least I had Trench as a meter for how things might go."
Re: (CW: drugs referenced--cocaine)
He looked like he was giving serious thought to this question. "Hmm. Honestly, I've mostly seen the earlier episodes, so I'm not sure I can give a fair answer on that. I like Joel fine, but I might like Mike more if I saw more of his episodes."
And a smirk. "I don't really like it either, honestly. Especially the newer ones. The older seasons are kinda classic, but the show as a whole is just so out there."
He winced. "Well, at least that's something, I guess. It'd be worse to have no clue what you were getting into."
(CW: poor parenting)
"Oh, oh, the answer is Joel. Joel all the way. He's the guy who started the whole thing and if you haven't seen his 'Manos: The Hands of Fate,' you're missing out on of the true joys of life," she stated with conviction.
"Yeah, it's like. Either they need to lean into the camp or get serious. Both is total tonal whiplash."
Lexi shrugged. "Well, I have no idea who chose Taylor effing Swift as the avatar for---I dunno, I dunno what she is. But it's certainly a choice. At least she's hot."
Re: (CW: poor parenting)
A smirk. “Oh, then I was on the right track. Usually I do prefer the original person in something. I’m not a big fan of replacing people. And I will have to look up that episode. I know Scotch has probably seen it.”
And he nodded. “Shows that just can’t decide what they wanna be usually end up pretty brain-breaking.”
He had to laugh. “I guess I figured the Fox chose her herself. It makes about as much sense as anything else.”
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"Good answer. And seriously, if you've never seen it before, you're missing out. I'll make sure you see it soon," she stated confidently.
She released a little frustrated breath. "Exactly. I swear, there are so many shows which have a little kernel of something good, but fail to follow-through."
"I guess," Lexi said doubtfully. "Maybe she thinks she won't be as scary if she's Taylor Swift?"
CW: Alcoholism
"Great," Radley smiled. "I could use a good laugh."
He nodded. "A couple of my friends tried watching Once Upon a Time and threw up their hands in disgust after the halfway point of season 3. The show had already been hitting some serious 'what the heck' notes in season 2, but after that point it got a lot worse. The writers really didn't seem to know what to do with it then. Scotch has gone on a lot of long rants about what went wrong."
That was an amusing and interesting thought. "Maybe. I wonder if she cares about scariness. Seems like things here have been plenty scary as it is. The ghost town here and the fires were pretty freaky."
CW: Alcoholism
"Oh I know. That was such a trainwreck. I could only make myself keep watching because of SwanQueen and SleepingWarrior. And even those they putzed up. It was so annoying! Can't we get any canon lesbian rep in anything other than shows on Netflix and Hulu?" Because back in Lexi's day, those were the main two games in town.
"Absolutely freaky. Though not completely unexpected. Like I said, Trench did that kind of shit to us a lot. It was kind of adapt or let your brain get broken month after month. And home was stressful enough, so I decided to adapt." She was hoping that would carry over here. There were so many things wrong about both home and Trench that she felt like she was pretty much immune to most weirdness at this point.
She's wrong, of course.
Re: CW: Alcoholism
Radley knows SwanQueen, but has to think for a moment to remember SleepingWarrior. "Yeah, they really didn't seem to know what to do with Mulan and Aurora especially. That pairing idea seemed to be shoehorned in there and dropped almost as fast. Really kinda pathetic. They could have done a lot of interesting things with it." While Radley isn't really a shipper, he does love intriguing character relationships of all kinds and is pretty comfortable discussing ships and how well characters seem to click.
He still thinks Netflix and Hulu are probably the best of the bunch. And Tubi, a dark horse on the scene that's really taken off.
He frowns at this. "It was awful enough going through that once. And this squid world did it every month?"
CW: Alcoholism, death referenced
"I know, right? I mean, there was all of this build-up and all of that chemistry and I know I shouldn't expect lesbians from Disney but come on! They had way better interactions with each other than they did with the guys they were paired off with. Heteronormativity strikes again." But then, it almost always did. She was bi, herself, but she'd realized that other girls would always have more of a pull than guys did.
She was just happy to have a place where she could watch all of her old favorite TV shows. And she'll eventually love Crackle, for all of the bad, schlocky horror films.
"Every single month, like clockwork. For like two weeks out of every month, we were like 'here we go, it's gonna suck.' And death was always on the table." But she still figured she could handle whatever this place tossed out.
Re: CW: Alcoholism, death referenced
"Ironically weird when they don't seem to realize they're going to aggravate a lot of people when they just backtrack on something like that," Radley says with a dark smirk. "Or maybe they do realize and they just like messing with people. With those guys, it wouldn't surprise me. They admitted they were just doing upsetting things on Lost for the shock value.
"You know what I'd really like to see portrayed in media is a relationship that's every bit as close as romantic, but isn't actually romantic. I think Virgil said it's usually called 'queerplatonic.' I didn't even know there was a word for it until recently." A laugh. "I thought I was the only one even interested in something like that."
And he stares in horror at this. "And everybody managed to come out of that place still sane?"
no subject
"That would be nice, too. A lot of the time, LGBTQ characters are reduced to who they want to--to you know with. It would be nice to have two queer friends who are friends first. Maybe even wingperson for each other. That would be cool," and a subversion of a lot of tropes.
"Yeah? After a while, you got used to it. If that makes sense? It also helped that everything happened like clockwork," Lexi explained, looking a little awkward.
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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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(CW: alcohol mentioned)
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