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folkmore mod ([personal profile] folkie) wrote in [community profile] folkmeme2024-06-12 06:46 am
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June-July 2024 Test Drive Meme

June-July 2024 TDM
Introduction

[ TDM QuestionsJump to CommentsFull Navigation ]

This Test Drive meme is open to all.

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.

Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!



🦊 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.

[ Prompt OnePrompt Two]

Ghost Tours .
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.

  • 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
Flames to Embers .
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. Confessions help 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.

  • 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.
therewerefifty: (I have an oral fixation sue me)

[personal profile] therewerefifty 2024-06-12 11:16 am (UTC)(link)
Makie has been giving little shamisen concerts in Never Fade since February and donating all the Lore she receives that way to the Shattered Spoon shrine. Would that have any bearing on the ghost tours or anything else?
shabby_magic: (Default)

[personal profile] shabby_magic 2024-06-12 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
The ghost bartender doesn't serve real drinks I assume?
goldenturtle: @osewa6363 (Default)

re: Ghost Tours

[personal profile] goldenturtle 2024-06-12 12:45 pm (UTC)(link)
re: exits disappear/'branching paths through wooden structures'
1 • Could I have some clarification on this? I think I get it, I'm having trouble interpreting it so want to be sure.

Do the entered buildings turn into some kind of sprawling, interconnected maze once they enter, or does the building remain unchanged apart from the exit vanishing and a way out only appearing after they've explored the entirety of that building?

2 • What happens if a Star Child tries burning a way out?

re: combating ghosts
It says 'normal weapons won't hurt them', but nothing about abilities. Would abilities pertaining to purification, exorcism, etc., have a similar effect to those weapons (including increased monster aggro)?
silverdaggers: (Annoyed)

Princess Tranns Harkin | OC | Legend

[personal profile] silverdaggers 2024-06-12 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Arrival
Tranns Harkin had the bearing of a queen. She also happened to have the mouth of a sailor, which made for an interesting exercise in contrasts as she stalked through the strange desert where she'd landed, her long, purple cloak billowing behind her, swearing up a storm. She understood well enough that she'd brought this fate upon herself. It just seemed a bit unfair that she'd been dumped in the scorching heat. She was only half Elf, so her skin wasn't as delicate and as subject to burn as full Elves, but that didn't mean she liked the blazing sun.

When she spotted the river, she paused only long enough to mutter, "Thank the fuck," before she started marching to it. She thought she could spy movement, possibly other people, so she was very quick to smooth her hair down over her ears. They were a point of embarrassment for her, indication of her mutt heritage. Most of the people in her life didn't give a damn. Strangers were trickier, though.

Fortunately, she also threw a mean right hook.

Ghost Tours
"Are you fucking kidding me?"

She made the mistake of turning around. The doorway was gone and she understood that she'd completely screwed up. Of course, she was good at screwing up. Maybe she wasn't surprised, but she was disappointed. She turned her face to the ceiling, more generically to the sky. "You know, this is not a good way to earn loyalty from your worshipers," she told the Fox. Or maybe it was punishment from her own gods for recklessly agreeing to this little adventure.

Regardless, the only way forward was...well...forward. So Tranns balled up her fists and started walking, picking a direction completely at random. Whatever was waiting for her would damn well show itself and show itself soon. She wasn't a patient woman.

Flames to Embers
Fire. Of course there was a fucking fire. Because every time this place seemed great, in comparison to the hellscape that she'd left, something rotten had to happen. There was no question that Tranns was going to run to help, of course. It was pretty much the only thing she did with any consistency, besides screw up her life. At least she was meticulous enough to take off her cloak and fold it up, to avoid becoming tinder.

Nevertheless, that was her only hesitation before she raced to the flames, her hair falling away from her blunted, half-Elf ears. No time to give a fuck about that right now. "Someone give me a damn bucket!" she roared.

She was so determined that it took her longer than necessary to realize that the flames didn't seem to be touching her. They were barely even hot.

Wildcard
[Come at me, friends. Tranns here is from Ariadne's canon world, so feel free to press her for secrets about the little manic pixie demon girl. Will also switch to action spam, if that's your jam.]
wreathedblade: (Quiet/Thoughtful/Working)

Viv | Legends and Lattes | Legend

[personal profile] wreathedblade 2024-06-12 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Ghost Tours

[If there is one thing Viv doesn't expect to awaken to these days, its rolling sand dunes and a blistering heat that makes her skin prickle.

The orc woman needs a moment to take in the scenery before she slowly sits up. A frustrated sound escapes her as she scrubs a calloused hand against her face. There is a resigned kind of irritation there, opposed to nay actual surprise or shock.
]

I retired for a reason. Seven hells... [She pushes herself up carefully onto her feet, boots crunching in the sand. It takes her a second to properly remember following a fox in her dreams. Her brows furrow together as she winces at herself. Viv if anything is a fool through and through]

Why did I follow a fox? What was I thinking?

[Her hands itch to hold onto blackblood, but the blade remains hung up in her shop, a display piece more than weapon these days. She had put the blade down for a reason. For a better future. For a better version of herself. Viv was unaware that exact dedication is what attracted the fox to her in the first place.

Fellow new Star Children will encounter a seven foot orc woman forging her way through the desert. She's taking her time, clearly experienced in handling rough terrain. She's using what looks like an apron to shield herself from the sun beating down on her.

She will slow down for anyone in need, but seems intent on making her way to the town in the distance.
]

Flames To Embers

[A hungry fire erupts, gobbling up the edges of what looks like a quaint bookstore. The sight makes Viv's heart jolt against her ribs in a panic. She had just gotten into town and hadn't expected to encounter something like this.

She whips around looking for something to put the fire out. A desperation sharp on her features. Her protruding bottom tusks becoming more prominent with the determined grimace she wears.

A spirit murmurs something about a confession and Viv levels the spirit with a look. Incredulousness obvious on her features.
]

You can't be serious, we need some water here! Not- a confession! What are some pretty words going to do about this?

[Viv can certainly be swayed, since she's heard of stranger things in her life time, but she's more than a little throne off by the spirit insisting on a confession.]
Edited 2024-06-12 15:33 (UTC)
goldenturtle: (pic#17187430)

re: Flames to Embers

[personal profile] goldenturtle 2024-06-12 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
re: spirits asking for help
• Do the spirits explain that confessions are required, and the bigger the confession the bigger the impact to the flames? If not, would they elaborate if asked?

re: the wildfire itself
1 • It mentions needing to 'catch the wildfire's attention' and 'distract it' - does the wildfire have some level of sentience/is it a type of spirit? Would Star Children attuned to nature/the element of fire feel anything strange from it?

2 • Would earth abilities help halt any of the spread? e.g. trying to smother smaller flames with stone, or creating a stone wall around something flammable to protect it.
psychicdreams: (Prepared)

Mai Taniyama || Ghost Hunt || Legend || CURRENT CHARACTER

[personal profile] psychicdreams 2024-06-12 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Bracket or Prose are both very welcome! I love both. If you want to plot anything out, feel free to PM or plurk @ [plurk.com profile] ZodiacRockStar!

A. Ghost Tour Newbie

[Honestly, she knew forced relocation happens, yet she didn't think it would be this disorientating. She finds herself with her arms out, catching her balance when it happens. The heat is immediately oppressive and intense, making her already disorientation feel almost sickening. Looking around herself, she starts to walk towards an out cropping of buildings, her incorporeal wings held over her head to give her a semblance of a half shade... the light mostly shines through them though.

The heat makes her feel weak on her feet by the time she reaches the buildings, the need for water and coolness making her knees feel like jelly. Still, she pushes on towards the dilapidated buildings, hoping the shade will at least give a respite from the horrid sun that beats down on her.

Then she sees someone else with the same idea and shifts her trajectory to intercept them on the way. Cruel Summer isn't a safe place from the research she's done, so it would be best to pair up with someone, especially as the whispers and screams feel like they grow more insistent, louder.
]

Come on, the shade inside should help us from cooking alive. [she tries to smile through the discomfort, but her eyes are a wilting grayish brown.]


B. Ghost Tour Guide

Mai has been through the maze a couple times now, helped some people get through without incident, but that isn't the case for everyone. There are some ghosts along the path that if you merely bump into them become hostile and attack, it's treacherous, but she is trying her hardest to help the people around her.

Who knows what they did to aggravate the ghost, but as it goes into attack the person, there is a sudden fast chant of a mantra, and if you look, there is a young girl with her hands in a position as she speaks the last of the Nine Cuts into existence.

"--Retsu," cut "Zai," cut "Zen!" She makes the last cut through the air with her entire arm, the ghost's voice piercing the air around them as it vanishes.

A little out of breath, she rushes over to the person in question. "Are you okay?!"


C. Flames

[A family of local Red Panda's are begging Mai to help, but she doesn't know how. Isn't sure, they say to confess, anything! Mai is freaking out a little when they say this is their home, that they could lose everything, the fire even licks out as if reaching for the spirits themselves.

Grabbing the closest person to her, she looks at them and frantically says:
] I can have dreams about dead people's lives!

[She doesn't usually readily admit that but the flames seem to... did they die down a little? But there are memories in the flames now of a girl falling asleep of strange dreams... She looks away when she sees herself watching a little girl by a pond... ]

You too, come on confess something! [She might be panicking a little if the alarmed yellow of her eyes is anything to go by and how she's making demands.]


D. Embers (Closed to Established CR: July 2nd only)

The Embers floating through the air are... beautiful. Like fireflies in the summer. She's always wanted to see them but only really ever lived in the city, so it wasn't common to see them and when they did come out too many people usually gathered around. So getting to see the embers float through the air and come to rest on her hand, they don't burn.

"Tomorrow is my sixth birthday without my family... I'll be eighteen," Usually she doesn't feel sad about these things, yet... tears spring to her indigo eyes. "I miss my mom."

Flowers around her start to grow and bloom, beautiful and vibrant, as if feeding off her words and tears.

oweschildsupport: (hmm)

[personal profile] oweschildsupport 2024-06-12 04:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Are the monsters surrounding the Ghost Town the same as the ones usually seen around Cruel Summer, or are these different kinds?

Whether they are or aren't, I've set up in previous threads that Draxum has a theory about the monsters out there he's been wanting to test as soon as he gets a lab (which I was planning to do this month). He's a geneticist specializing in mutations; he's curious if there's a connection between the monsters and those supplements they sell in Oozlum. Is there anything he could determine about the monsters if he got his hands on some blood or tissue samples and/or examining the supplements?

Also re: the monsters attacking anyone inside the buildings. Does that include the ghosts, or do they avoid them?
shabby_magic: (grumpy)

John Constantine | DCU | Myth

[personal profile] shabby_magic 2024-06-12 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Arrival

He knows better. He fucking knows better!

John stares at the sky and curses himself. “You bloody fucking moron, John. You’ll never fucking learn!”

He pounds his fist against the ground a few times before getting to his feet. He dusts his coat off as he looks around. This realm of reality reminds him of the Sahara desert, hot, dry, and sandy. Not his favorite place to visit. There's also the magic. This place is so thick with magic and spirits he can practically taste it on his tongue. And it’s the real deal. Real powerful magic, not the stuff mortals can conjure.

A little too clean and nice for his tastes. Heavily fae given all the bargaining. Different sort of bargaining from demons because they need explicit consent to do this sort of shit.

John’s flippant ‘Yeah, of course luv!’ to the fox spirit had been taken as consent enough. It’s just the sort of phrase a fae would take and run with. Run all the way with someone’s spirit to another realm of existence.

It’s fine! It’s fine! He knows the rules of dealing with fae magic. Escaping this realm will be as easy as the flippant comment that got him stuck in it.

He walks out of the crater made by his landing in this realm still dusting off sand from his jacket. Not the best surface for this sort of work but beggars can’t be choosers he’s learned in magic. The heat of the place will be distracting but he’s felt the fires of Hell. A fairy desert won’t be as bad.

John rubs his palms together before holding his hands out and beginning the chant in Old English to send himself home. He feels the magic swell and rise within, his palms tingle a bit, and the last words burst from him with authority.

No portal opens.

John grits his teeth. “Oh, it’s going to be like that then?” He chuckles darkly. “You have no idea just how stubborn I can be.”

He’ll most likely be found shouting Old English to the skies trying to force his will and his magic on the land, tan trench coat at his feet, sleeves rolled up, and tie hanging more loose than normal.



Ghost Tours

“You know, mate, if you served up something real I’d be your best customer.” John rests his chin on his hand as he watches the ghost bartender go through the motions of getting a bottle, pouring a drink, and putting it down on the bar. He sighs as the ghost makes conversation.

Not exactly an intelligent haunting but it’s not a pure recorded haunting either. The bartender is going through the motions but he’s also making conversation, welcoming John to town and asking where he’s from. More strangeness from the spirits of this place further proving his theory that this is a fae realm of some sort.

John mimes putting down a tip on the bar before he turns away and considers the situation. He’s been trapped in a ghost town trying to get out of the heat. Something terrible must have happened to trap so many spirits here. The best way to send them on would be talking to them, getting their names, and then sending them along but that’s a lot of bloody work and so far his magic has proven to be intermittently useful.

When he figures out how the fae is doing that John’s going to make her pay for taking away his magic. Oh, she’ll bloody pay.

What he needs now is an exit.

John puts his hands in his pockets and starts wandering the halls. He lets ghosts pass right through him. None of them are strong enough to get through his protective wards and possess him. All they do is leave a bit of chill behind which is nice after the blistering heat outside.

He picks up the iron poker ignoring all the other weapons in the room. Iron in a fae realm… interesting.

Still, it should do the job.

He looks around and when he spots what he wants John makes his way over. He squares up like he’s seen American baseball players do and swings the iron poker at the window which already has a few cracks in it. The iron poker hits hard and is repelled backwards. The force of it reverberates down John’s arms and sends him stumbling back.

“Bloody hells!” He shakes out his arms and rolls his shoulders. “Of course, of course, it’s magic. You’re slipping.”

He rests the iron poker on his shoulder as he considers the window. Does he try again with force? Or does he try with magic?



Flames to Embers

John leans over the still burning parts of the ruins to light his cigarette. It looks to be someone’s home, a cozy little cottage, that’s been ravaged by a wildfire. There’s another one still burning nearby that some folks are trying to put out with buckets of water.

He puffs a few times on his cigarette before making his way over to the group. He stands at the back just observing for a little bit. The flames aren’t really going down even though the group is doing a bang up job with the water. They’re really trying to save that home.

“You know it’s magic right?” he says after taking the cigarette out of his mouth. He blows the smoke out slowly and it drifts up joining the dark clouds rising from the fire.

“It’s not going to go out with water.” John knows magical fire pretty well. It’s a favorite of his. “You’re better off just letting it burn. Unless you can find who cast it. Stop them and you’ll stop the flames.”

That’s the most likely route to take. There are some other causes of magical fire that require different methods but it’s not got the heat and stink of hellfire. There’s no demonic intent involved. Probably just bog standard magical flame that any rookie level warlock could conjure up.

He puts his cigarette in the corner of his mouth and keeps talking. “You see while it’s doing damage to the wood and all that it’s not actually feeding the fire like a normal flame. Someone cast this flame with strong emotion, probably rage, and until that rage burns itself out it’s going to seek out whatever it can to destroy. It’s an outlet for some feelings.”

John takes a moment to consider the flames.

“Bloody strong feelings.” He blows another puff of smoke from the corner of his mouth. “Good luck with it.”

Then he turns on his heel intending to leave.



Wildcard

John is a Myth with your cliche devil horns and tail. If you want a different prompt, feel free to toss down your own starter.
Edited 2024-06-13 01:00 (UTC)
goldenturtle: (pic#17187448)

Cale Henituse | Trash of the Count's Family (novel) | Familiar

[personal profile] goldenturtle 2024-06-12 06:17 pm (UTC)(link)
(( voice-testing! canon point is novel volume 2 chapter 212 (~900 chapters ahead of the manwha), so unlike the bulk of his icons his hair is past his shoulders in length. more character info is available in his journal!

I'm also fine with whichever writing format, so go with what you're comfortable with!))


GHOST TOURS
1 • « What Genre is This? »

It doesn't take long for Cale to brush off his disorienting arrival, choosing to focus on gathering new information from around him instead of reflecting further on what answers the Fox offered. There will be time for that later, after he finds a way out of this excruciating heat. With his spatial bag empty save for the coat he quickly shed, he's left without any of his supplies and none of his allies are with him.

Cale sighs. Of course it would be his luck to end up in a scorching desert that is definitely not any of the worlds he's been to before.

He's about to ask the Sky-Eating Water if she senses any water nearby when he suddenly stills; fox ears alert, and tail flaring in alarm. His Ancient Powers are equally as startled, letting out exclamations or curses of their own, though Cale is only interested in the opinion of one of them.

- It's not black despair.

The Fire of Destruction says with certainty, filling Cale with a sense of relief until he thinks of something else—

If the cause of those echoed whispers and screams isn't black magic, then is this world a horror genre?

"Haaa..." he sighs, rubbing his sweating face with a hand. "That motherfucking God of Death."

Can't that bastard do anything right?
•ווו
2 • « Definitely Horror »

Even his Ancient Powers are rendered speechless when they see the 'shelter' the uncomfortably helpful spirit lead them to.

Cale stares at the decrepit town, stoic face masking his internal shock.

'What a cliché!'

An abandoned, run-down, old, wooden town in the middle of the desert? Not to mention that he was guided there by a definitely-not-human that appeared at a suspiciously convenient moment?

- Does it think we're fucking stupid?

The Sky-Eating Water scoffs, her voice half-disbelieving and half-infuriated. Cale agrees with her but remains silent for a few moments as he focuses on thinking up a plan.

'...Cheapskate, does your purification work on ghosts?'

Cale asks, eyeing up the town that is definitely either haunted or housing blade-wielding murderers.

His gaze turns more contemplative once he receives the answer from the Fire of Destruction. Cale knows enough about horror that he's confident he could keep himself safe against most things, and if the Cheapskate's purification doesn't work on ghosts then Embrace might work in a pinch instead...

"Let's just flip everything over if it gets too dangerous."

Thus decided on his course of action, Cale strolls into the ghost town.
•ווו
3 • « No Shortcuts Allowed »

Turns out the Fire of Destruction can burn away a ghost with its purification power, but it will just respawn shortly after. It at least gives Cale enough time to run far away with the help of The Sound of the Wind, so there's at least that.

Unable to find a way out of the building he's been trapped in for the past two hours, Cale blasts a hole through a wall with The Sound of the Wind and walks through it. He glances around at what should have been the outdoors, then at the perfectly intact wall behind him.

"This is illogical," he mutters to himself, expression still as calm and indifferent as ever. Summoning a small whirlwind over his palm, Cale shoots it through the next wall in his path with a casual flick of his finger and sees that it's yet another room.

"Some kind of spatial magic?" He walks forward at a leisurely pace, brows furrowed. "Or is it an illusion?"

He ignores the odd feeling in his heart when Raon's voice doesn't chirrup a proud answer to him, unaware of the way his newly-acquired fox ears and tail have drooped.


NETWORK POST
un: recorder • « text format »

Hello,

I want money, and apparently we get paid in the local currency for communicating with people on this network.

So let's chat.
Edited (adding network prompt) 2024-06-17 13:10 (UTC)
sunsickness: (015)

d ( vampire hunter d )

[personal profile] sunsickness 2024-06-12 06:54 pm (UTC)(link)
GHOST TOURS
a.
[ he's been following this unusually friendly spirit for some time now. normally, he wouldn't risk it, given the likelihood of it turning on him, but he'd sensed no hostility from it thus far. even the parasite in his left hand hadn't stirred with a warning-- at least, not beyond its initial comments about the sun and the heat and the risk of both. dhampir--at least, dhampir like d--are not especially made for the daylight, even if they can live in it. if he hadn't spent so many years over the centuries tracking targets across the wastelands of his home, well.. he might have found all this a great deal more troubling than he does right now.

the spirit swerves suddenly from its singleminded track, drifting up a rocky hill, and d mentally prepares himself for it to finally turn on him. as he crests the hill in question, though, he understands the sudden detour-- another figure, as lost in the desert as d himself is.

he keeps his distance, knowing all too well the initial impression he gives off, with his height and dark clothing and gray-tinged white skin. anyone from home would know him for what he is at first glance, and even if this isn't his world.. best not to approach too easily.

reaching up, he pulls the brim of his hat down lower over his eyes, then gestures briefly to the spirit now urging the stranger to join them. ]
.. You may as well come along. [ the other option is to wander alone, in theory. ]


b.
[ while the relief from the sun and the heat are appreciated, d can't relax. he knows better than most the danger a restless spirit can present, and some of these are very restless indeed.

he's content to rest and observe for a while, seated at the bar and watching with sharp, dark eyes as spirits go about their business and the living from the desert interact with them. with his hat resting on the bar at his elbow, his pointed ears and pallor are all the more noticeable, but they don't seem to be that out of place, considering.

eventually, though, a voice pipes up, muffled, from.. his left hand? ]
Heh, what a payout this would be. Are you sure there's no one to-- mmph! [ the voice cuts off as d clenches his fist. ] Quiet.


WILDCARD
[ feel free to encounter d after a fight, or during the wildfires, or prompt me with whatever. i'm pretty easy. ]
monadalgona: (pic#17052336)

morgana | p5r | legend

[personal profile] monadalgona 2024-06-12 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
ghost tours
( what else would you expect of a curious cat than to investigate these shrieks and whispers? there's a little black-white cat with a yellow collar doing just that, inside of the interconnected huts. one might expect a cat to spook easily, but he ignores the loud noises and hops around like he owns the place, prowling and trying to see both a higher view and an on-street view.

but what might be curious is that he has two little wings... and when a ghost mimics petting him, he actually sputters out a - )


Hey! I'm not a cat! ( after the initial annoyance, however, he seems put out. ) But you can't even hear me, huh...?

flames to embers
( now, morgana is hardly ever one to be drawn to fire. it's all smoky and gets in his face and ugh, he just isn't a fan. nothing against people who wield fire, of course, but spare him the s'mores.

but protecting places from being burned down sounds like something he should still do... so he's quite quick to scurry up to a fellow star child, fur on end, hissing at the flames. he takes a stand beside them, and he isn't intent on leaving.

granted, he may not be quick to confess first, but surely a cat would listen to whatever inane confessions people might dream up? )
afoolshope: (🌕 001)

[personal profile] afoolshope 2024-06-12 07:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I can hear you.

[Minato couldn't help but follow the cat with a yellow collar. Something about it rang familiar, although he couldn't place why. Unlike Morgana's wings, Minato had a more wolf-like appearance. Ears, tail, fangs, and claws. His hands were also lined with pitch black fur that faded the higher up his arms it went.

He reached out to gently scritch behind one of Morgana's ears, his other hand holding up his chin as he knelt down.]


What's a cat like you doing in a place like this?

[He also seemed wholly unperturbed at meeting a talking cat.]
monadalgona: lame58964766@Twitter (pic#17044040)

[personal profile] monadalgona 2024-06-12 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
( WHOA WAIT QUICK ACT LIKE A -

oh. ... huh! what a weird feeling, like deja vu. he's so close to baring his little teeth and complaining that if he really heard him he just said he wasn't a cat so why is he... ooh actually that feels good. his hind leg kicks a little. )


Mrwwwww - ( he'd been itching behind his ear for sooo long - focus! )

I'm not a cat. I am Morgana. And obviously, I'm following those creepy noises!

What are you doing here? ( his eyes focus on those ears and tail. ) Is your nose any good?
apuckalypse: (44)

c - i tripped and here i am again

[personal profile] apuckalypse 2024-06-12 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh- uh- wow. It takes a moment for it to click that this is Mai, since they'd only spoken through text before. Right! He knew about the possessions, but dreams, too? She really is a ghost expert.

His own confession, though... he fumbles for a moment, but the flames are still big and erratic and starting to spread again, so he blurts out,]


I-I'm from a future that doesn't exist anymore!

[The flames spark and sputter, a neighbouring fire shifting to reveal Casey in the midst of a ruined landscape of wreckage and bones, being thrown through a glowing white portal and landing in the middle of Times Square at night.]
afoolshope: (🌕 176)

[personal profile] afoolshope 2024-06-12 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[Because you look like a cat and walk like a cat and... talk like a cat? Okay, probably not how the saying goes but that pleased little meow wasn't helping Morgana's argument here. Minato let a small smile pull his lips as he watched. His own tail wagged a bit.]

Heard there were some new Star Children about. Came to help.

[He blinked and tilted his head at the question. Huh, just how good was his nose? He never really tested it, just knew it was better than normal because of his Familiar status.]

Better than a normal human, I guess? What are we sniffing out?
monadalgona: (pic#17052355)

[personal profile] monadalgona 2024-06-12 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, ( there was that little self-important lilt in morgana's voice as he licked his paw. ) obviously, if those are really ghosts, they wouldn't leave a scent behind, right?

I can't smell anything off, but maybe that's because I'm new. If you're saying there's "new" people around, you must be used to what it usually smells like around here.
psychicdreams: (examine)

Ghost Tours

[personal profile] psychicdreams 2024-06-12 08:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[The cry of someone saying their not a cat is what draws Mai from where she's recently entered the building - which was oh so thankfully cool!! - and has her come running. Were they a familiar being treated as their animal form? What was going on for that to happen?

But as she comes trotting up, she sees the ghost trying to pet the.. well the winged cat. That immediately makes her wonder: are they a cat or a legend? She's really confused now because she's never seen a winged cat before. Her own partially incorporeal wings fluff a little, shedding faint light.
]

But you look like a cat... are you a familiar? Are you stuck in cat form? [She gently tries to shoo the ghost away while she asks.]
tonchiki: ([緊張] 03)

wanna be firefighters? >:)

[personal profile] tonchiki 2024-06-12 08:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[These fires are pretty serious, huh? Ryuji can feel the heat of the burning Cruel Summer brush on his skin, even if it doesn't hurt him, the smoke getting in all three of his eyes. His single bottle of water had done fuck all to put it out, and it's only getting worse. The foxes said that confessing stuff would put out the fire ravaging their burrow, but how's that even supposed to work??]

Damnit. Come on, man, think…!

[His face scrunches up, as if that'll somehow help. Seems Ryuji hasn't noticed the familiar cat-not-cat at his side just yet…]
psychicdreams: (NO)

catches you!

[personal profile] psychicdreams 2024-06-12 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[Honestly? She has no idea this is Casey, because the only pictures she's seen is him in a mask or him as an owlbear. So to her this is some stranger, but that's okay. She doesn't mind, though she will be glad to know this is Casey later.

For now, she needs to save the Red Pandas' house! It's only just down the street from Satori Hills, which is already dangerously too close for her comfort.

She sees him in the fire and--

Not important right now.
]

Um! My best friend here thought I was in love with him because I made him cake for his birthday and turned me down and honestly I was offended.

[The fire shows Akechi-kun sitting her down to reject her. But the fire is also sparking and dying down]
Edited 2024-06-12 20:46 (UTC)