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folkmore mod ([personal profile] folkie) wrote in [community profile] folkmeme2024-10-20 03:02 pm
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October-November 2024 Test Drive Meme

October-November 2024 Test Drive
Introduction

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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. 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.

[ Prompt OnePrompt Two]

After the Storm .
Content Warnings: Natural Disaster/Natural Disaster Relief

It seems as if the Star Children will be restricted to Amrita Academy forever, when nothing changes at the one month mark. Yet, after another week has stretched endlessly past, a morning dawns to show that the moat of Lorasses has vanished. The way is clear to discover what the chaotic storms have left behind.

Most of Folkmore's resident spirits return. Good thing Catbus is among them because the train is not operating. Debris litters the tracks throughout the land. Someone's going to have to work to clean all of that up before normal schedules can resume... within the first week or so, everyone fervently hopes.

That is far from the only wreckage from those storms. As Star Children have seen, even Amrita Academy hasn't really been spared; between the Lorasses moat and the various structures built to weather the storms, the past weeks have left a mark on the school.

Other regions show clear signs of the warping they have endured similarly.
  • Wintermute alternated between blinding light and pitch blackness, with mountains growing and crumbling away alike. Cabins were transformed into igloos.
  • Willow experienced all the seasons in a matter of days multiple times, growing crops and new trees, losing old ones, and its buildings weathered as though through decades.
  • In Epiphany, the streets ran with water so high it was difficult to walk, and the buildings shifted to reflect related settings.
  • Cruel Summer grew hotter and more oppressive, so that survival away from the Selkie River was impossible. On the 13th, there was an explosion, and it rained robot parts.
  • Exile was swallowed entirely by the Swamp of Sorrows, leaving no dry land.
  • Tides filled with water, dark deep water that could not readily be seen through.
  • Never Fade became even more purple, with a thick haze that erased visibilty of borders. It also became steeper, so there was no flat ground.

The rest of Willow shows signs of extreme growth and age, as if decades, not weeks, have passed. Epiphany and Tides suffer major flood damage, and Exile is entirely soggy and saturated with a sense of sorrow. Avalanche debris covers Wintermute, and the mountains aren't in the same place. Cruel Summer is even dryer, cracked, and in part of it littered with exploded, partially melted robot parts. Never Fade may be the best off; the ground has leveled off, and only the unsecured outdoor items have crashed around or dropped off the island. In general, all regions show signs of warping.

Talaria has been outright knocked down (once again) and will need to be rebuilt (once again). The contents of Talarian homes have been thriftily saved by Thirteen (yet again). They'll be back as soon as the homes are ready to be redecorated! There's also a new elevator connecting Tides to a platform in the ocean at surface level, making it a little bit easier to get in or out of the neighborhood. Fly, swim, or use a boat from Nereid marina to reach it.

Many of the buildings throughout Folkmore, businesses and residences alike, have been damaged, some past the point of habitability. For better or worse, some residences will wait unclaimed, as their resident spirits have not returned from wherever they went while gone from Folkmore. Newly arriving Star Children (or those interested in relocating) just might find those residences awfully appealing. As with all unoccupied homes in Folkmore, they're free real estate.

Each neighborhood has a new (and structurally-sound) building near its center: a hospitality station of sorts, stocked with basic foods (to suit a variety of dietary needs, relevant to the known local residents), clean water, personal protective equipment, basic tool kits, fresh clothing, and clean linens. For those ill equipped to cook for themselves for whatever reason, there's also a canteen/soup kitchen area. The canteen tends to collect idle spirits and Star Children who might be willing to assist with any cleanup tasks too big or too complex for one person to tackle on their own.

Working with the neighbors has an additional benefit, of course: sooner or later, whether while helping clear the train tracks or fixing up someone's home or business (including a Star Child's own), shifting the debris will reveal a weathered container of some sort, locked up tight, that will only fall open at a touch if and when the right Star Child finds it. There is only one chest per Star Child. Inside, is an item from home, either that of the resident whose house/business it's found in or the one keyed to the lock. It may even be a magical item or weapon.

There's some good news as well, in the midst of all the chaos: most Star Children will find that their homes are wholly unharmed; their pets, companions, Pokémon, etc. are all hale and hearty, having spent the entire time cozily asleep in their boxfoxes — which can be reused if kept, and just as easily abandoned now that they've released their occupants.

  • The moat is gone! Freeeeeedom!
  • The train is not operating for one week until October 27th due to debris over the tracks.
  • Every region of Folkmore shows scars from the past month's extreme disturbances. Things have not reverted to before.
  • Most spirits have returned; some remain absent. Claim the free real estate, if quick or bold enough.
  • Hospitality stations have appeared in each neighborhood stocked with food, water, clothing, and linens.
  • The canteens serve as a social hub and place to ask for/volunteer assistance.
  • One time only, cleaning up or moving debris will reveal a container holding an item from home: yours or the person's you're helping.
  • Most Star Children's homes will be unharmed; any damage should match the region's damage flavor. The level of destruction is up to you.
  • Creatures in boxfoxes are out, fine and dandy! Boxfoxes can be kept/used again.
Dream of the Blue Turtle .
Offshore near Agrona Academy, there's something new. Something bewildering, maybe. Something growing. There's also something swimming up to any Star Children near the coast: a very large sea turtle, not willing to come far ashore. She's singing and chirping to get attention, in case being big enough to have a six-foot-long shell isn't quite good enough for some reason. (Or the way she has a blue-green bioluminescent glow when underwater, as becomes quite visible around dusk.)

She's happy to explain that she needs a place to lay her eggs. She doesn't have eggs to lay, just yet, but she wants to have her place all ready anyway. To that end she's busily building a brand-new island not very far from shore. It's just over there, visible once she indicates it with a flipper, barely any higher than the waves cresting around it. Here's the sad part: while she's used a great deal of cleverness in building it, from rocks and sand and bits of broken reef, she's all out of construction materials that she can reach! So she needs help: more construction material for the island.

It seems she's got a very loose definition, though, so pretty much anything that can later be covered in sand or dirt is fair game. Lucky that she wants it now. There's a perfect place to dump all that debris in the ocean recycle all the debris, anything not structurally sound enough for a repair-in-place job. Bigger is probably better, too. Work together with other Star Children to haul up the big stuff. It brings more and more joy to her songs as she finds the exact place for each and every item, making her island grow bigger and bigger.

Anyone who actively participates will be rewarded five (5) spoons by the turtle directly, as a thank you for helping her to keep her eggs safe. (If anyone asks, she'll explain that it's the number of limbs she has, so she thought it was perfect!) In addition, she gives each person a smooth and shiny sea rock that fits in their palm perfectly! If the island gets big enough to be more than a sandbar, anyone who helped with the construction will find it far more welcoming than those who didn't. She isn't expecting to use anything but the beach.

  • A large sea turtle—with a 6 foot in diameter shell and about 3 feet tall at the shoulder—starts building an island off Cruel Summer.
  • She needs help getting more building supplies. Bring your debris, bigger the better, here!
  • All Star Children who help will be rewarded five (5) spoons and a shiny and smooth rock from underwater that fits in their recipients' palms just so.
  • Star Children who help find the island more welcoming than those who didn't.
rockinghorse: (pic#)

[personal profile] rockinghorse 2024-10-22 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
( the gloves are interesting and unfortunately, they leave a nasty aftertaste in her mouth from her clumsy eating. soon though, nana leaned back and rose her head up to look at this person.

it was finally time to speak. )


Thanks for the treat man, but I kinda have a favor to ask of you.
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[personal profile] nativized 2024-10-22 11:19 pm (UTC)(link)
... Your house get messed up?

[ Maybe it's that he's not been around a lot of familiars in anime form, but he's instantly assuming that this cat is, well, a spirit. He says it with an even tone, not even sounding the least bit surprised the cat can talk.

What a world he's gotten used to. ]
Edited 2024-10-22 23:20 (UTC)
rockinghorse: (pic#)

[personal profile] rockinghorse 2024-10-22 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
( what a shame, his lack of surprise left a rather disappointed look on this black cat. with a paw rising up, she placed it on his finger tips, using his hand to rise up from the ground just a bit to get a better look at him. )

Actually, I'm pretty new here. I was brought in a day ago or so.

( with a flick of her tail, she continued on. )

I'm having difficulties getting used to all of this, and I was wondering if you knew how I could turn back into my real form.
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[personal profile] nativized 2024-10-22 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh. Of all things, he glances up at the sky for a moment before looking back to her. When he does, if she's paying attention to it, his eyes are a different color, having shifted to a shade of blue. ]

Oh the stars are falling again, huh! Yeah, no. Sorry. Didn't get sorted into "Familiar" myself, so anything I could give is secondhand at best.

[ He does start racking his brain for if he did know anything, though. ]
rockinghorse: (pic#)

[personal profile] rockinghorse 2024-10-23 09:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Well that's just great...

( she managed to mutter out, taking one good look into his eyes before she bounced off his hands and began to walk off. she didn't get very far, rolling onto the ground and appearing almost depressed. )

I get plucked from my world and I managed to turn myself into a cat. What the heck happened around here anyways?

( for now, she would lazily stare at him, her tail flicking ever so lightly. )
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[personal profile] nativized 2024-10-24 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... Well, it's a small cat, he can keep pace easily enough, deciding to make sure to keep the person in sight for at least the time being. He might not know transformations, but perhaps he could call someone on the Relic who might know...? Who was a familiar again... well, Betsy, obviously, but... ]

Would you believe it, supposedly the realm itself became unstable.
rockinghorse: (pic#)

[personal profile] rockinghorse 2024-10-24 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
( well that was a surprise to nana. she had been pulled by a being that seemed confident, full of themselves, and had assured her that this was a good change. however foxes were known as tricksters in many cultures, perhaps things weren't what they seemed.

with a surprised look, the best a cat could give, her ears flicked up and she suddenly seemed interested in the man. )


Seriously? I don't mean to pry but have you been here very long? Has this happened before?
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[personal profile] nativized 2024-10-25 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
By comparison to some people, not really, but by any sensible time, yes. By the calendar here, it's the middle part of autumn, and I arrived at the midpoint of spring. Sooo, about six months.

During that time, nothing else's been on that scale, though there were some wildfires a while back. Everything else seemed more structured in its oddity - trials and all, if you've heard of those yet.

[ And if they haven't, he'll have to give her some insights on that. Lex's tone remains even as he explains this, his voice a little airy almost, as if he didn't want to commit to how serious this ought to be considered. ]
rockinghorse: (pic#)

[personal profile] rockinghorse 2024-10-30 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Trails and all? Woah slow down there, care to explain that?

( in comparison to his own airy, carefree tone of voice, nana was highly concerned by what was being told to her.

while to an extent she understood why she was brought here and the purpose, to hear someone had already been here six months...

was also distressing. )
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[personal profile] nativized 2024-11-01 05:13 am (UTC)(link)
[ ... Ah, well, they really didn't hear a lot just yet, huh? Lex frowns a little, but then quickly, very quickly, rallies to a more subdued smile. His tone remains a little bit deliberately relaxed, but he drops it to a more focused, serious register. Not wanting to seem as if he ... well, was dismissive of the apparent distress in the cat. ]

Trials. They're a ... well, not an uncommon thing which happens here with some regularity. In my time here it's taken several forms, but at a basic level they're physical, mental, or especially emotional challenges people are subjected to here by some magical means.