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October-November 2024 Test Drive Meme
October-November 2024 Test Drive
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 todump 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.
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
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.
daphne bridgerton | bridgerton | legend
[ Dear Illustrious Reader,
One Miss Daphne Bridgerton (well, she’s not a Bridgerton by name anymore—though one can never simply stop being a Bridgerton!) has no earthly idea how she got here.
It takes a while for her to remember the fox, and even longer to decide that this may not just be a dream.
At one point, she does stop walking around in a daze and recognizes that there is a problem to be solved. She might be new, but she can piece together that something detrimental transpired.
Everyone else around her is contributing to the effort of the cleanup. The sight humbles her, and drives her. She has felt useless too many times lately. At least she can offer some help.
All the same, she is certainly struggling, that much is easy to see, to drag an impossibly large tree branch (she bears a striking resemblance to this) with both hands. It’s not easy work. Not when one is dressed in restricting regency dress, only in slippers, hands still encased in lace gloves.
Violet Bridgerton raised eight children, some of whom possessed more grace than others, but she certainly did not raise a quitter among them.
She stops to slump against a tree trunk and dab at her damp forehead with her handkerchief, fanning herself with the other hand. She is not made for manual labor.
You may find her overheated, asking if there is any water on your person, or maybe you stumble over her big stick—at which point she jumps to help with a yelp of concern: ] Oh, I’m so sorry!
no subject
Once she decides to call it quits, he speaks up and points toward the branch. )
You know, I can move that for you. I didn't offer before because I wanted to see if you'd manage to do it wearing a dress like that.
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She must be slacking, or this miserable humidity has gotten to her, because she startles at the voice, much like a jumpy deer, and whips around to greet its owner.
She has to look up, up, up, he’s quite tall, her cheeks flushed both with heat and embarrassment. ]
You wanted—?
[ And then, her mood is thoroughly irked. ]
Well.
Then it’s a good thing I did not ask. [ She sniffs. But she hasn’t forgotten her manners, so she tacks on— ] Sir.
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( He doesn't laugh, thank god, but he does smile because he likes the bit of attitude she's given him about it. )
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Well, I didn’t. So— [ Alright, she’s going to be childish. Her arms cross, defiantly. ] there. I can do it by myself, thank you very much.
no subject
( She's irritated and he can tell that so he wants to try to make her laugh. )
You move stuff often or is this a one time thing?
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She does have a regiment of mild exercise to explain how far she’s gotten with her stick, but she doesn’t divulge that information. Instead, she leans back on her trunk and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, self-consciously. ]
No. [ Look, she can be civil. Even if she’s not exactly charmed by this stranger. She was raised to be polite.
Flustered, she rambles on: ] What I mean to say is — I’m trying to be of service. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing?
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( She's a beautiful woman, even winded and leaning against a tree with disheveled hair, and he offers his hand to her to shake it. )
I'm Bucky. I should have led with that.
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Daphne, unused to being alone with men that aren’t her brothers or Simon, suddenly remembers herself and blushes.
She eyes his proffered hand for a couple of seconds before acting on the manners instilled in her from birth and breeding. Lightly, she places her hand into it, fully expecting him to kiss it as a gentleman would. ]
My name is Daphne. [ He doesn’t offer last names so she thinks it prudent maybe she shouldn’t either. To smooth over any of her earlier roughness, she tries for humor. ] And I’m rarely wrong.
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Well, if you're rarely wrong and I'm rarely wrong, then who is gonna cover the five percent where we're both wrong?
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My sister Eloise would suffice. At least, she would think as much. [ There is an exasperated edge to her voice, the kind saved for siblings. A pang hits her chest. What if her family isn’t here? What if they were? It hadn’t occurred to her to consider she may be all alone. ]
It is kind of you to offer your… brawn, but I dare say I should probably do this myself. It feels imperative that I must do something.
no subject
( Bucky doesn't particularly want to offend her but she's also incredibly small and delicate and that makes him want to show off and move a bunch of shit around so she'll be impressed. That's probably a stupid train of thought, considering, but while he's 106, he's not dead. She's a pretty woman. )
I'm really only good at hauling around heavy stuff so you're gonna put me out of business over here.
no subject
I can surmise that I am not dressed for the occasion. You needn’t remind me.
[ Still blushing. She huffs a little, at a loss. Like any Bridgerton, she is stubborn to fault, but she’s also quite tired now. ]
And am I to gather the leaves?
[ Actually, probably not a bad idea altogether, but she’s likely not suited for that job either. ]
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but hey, what use is she if she doesn't offer water, whether asked for or not. have one fingergun before she holds out her canteen. she absolutely side-eyes those gloves.]
You might wanna take those off before you tug on that thing any more.
couldn’t help it 1/2
actual tag ~
Her head tilts back, glugging away. Somehow, some way, even that action seems dainty.
Midway, she remembers her etiquette, lifting her lips away. And look. Daphne has a perfectly capable sense of humor. She can freely laugh at herself, but she’s a little out of her element.
Pride wounded, she pouts. ]
I am not — tugging.
[ Still. She takes another sip. ]
i love it never be sorry
vi's head tilts at the dainty glugging - how is that even possible? she sure doesn't look like that when she drinks, but she files it away to try out. it's achievable, yeah? (no.)]
So that's not a tug. Is that a pout?
[is she flirting? kind of. it's the sort of thing she does with most people, but maybe she's got a bit of a spot for fancy ladies.
well after the sip's taken, absolutely amused:]
Have another sip.
[but seriously. those gloves are going to get destroyed. sansa makes fancy clothes, she now understands how much work goes into it!]
no subject
Your Grace-- [She swings it suddenly, likely because Michael caught her off guard.]
My apologies. It was my own doing. I just-- I saw you struggling there.
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(At least this time it’s unintentional. The same could not be said for her dealings with Lord Berbrooke.) ]
I—my apologies in return! My god, I did not mean to— [ At this point, she’s dropped the branch, appalled, but she stops in her tracks. ]
I’m sorry, did you refer to me as Your Grace?
no subject
Perhaps he is wrong. She is young. Nearly ten years or so at this rate, but surely she looks as much of a Bridgerton save for the lighter hair.]
Are you not married to the Duke of Hastings? [Unless there is some trick of identities and look alikes that he has heard about in this place. Still he is sure of himself in this moment, but he could be wrong.]
no subject
I am indeed. [ Very, very newly married, though she does not say as much. She’s too busy taking him in. He’s dressed very much like the men from home, with some more or less minor alterations to the style. Some new French fashion possibly, though she is usually aware of them immediately. ]
Do I know you, sir?
no subject
Not very well. [But of course he knows who each of the Bridgertons are. He's merely more aware of Eloise, Hyacinth, and Violet as they remain at home. But then Daphne was already married for some time with several children. Clearly this Daphne is still young.]
Michael Stirling, your Grace. John Kilmartin was my cousin. [He gives a sharp bow of his head in greeting to her.]
I do not suppose you have seen Francesca here?
no subject
Older; petite true but with well defined muscles that give her a good ten kilograms on the girl; well pleated split-skirt and study boots made for ease of movement; the facial tattoo and thorn-like horns giving her a fierce appearance befitting a Nightsister; pulling her own load with a cord summoned by Magick, without a hint of struggle. But she does admire grit. ]
There are less taxing ways of accomplishing your task.
no subject
The horns catch her more off guard than the comment, and the tattoo somehow more so than the horns. She has to stop herself from staring outright; a difficult feat, to say the least. She has not encountered many since her arrival, none that look so alien.
But... this woman seems to have her life figured out. Daphne definitely does not, and unlike her eldest brother, she doesn’t have too much pride to admit it. At least, not to another woman. ]
I am afraid I am new at all of this.
no subject
Clearly.
[ But it's not unkind, even almost amused ]
Here, set it down. Step back, and stretch otherwise you are going to be too sore to move tomorrow.