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February-March 2025 Test Drive Meme
February-March 2025 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 a canon item from home, 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: Forced Emotional Effects, Trapped in a Location, Potential Forced Sharing, Potential Violence, Potential Death-like Experience
New Star Children arrive as motes floating in light to land on a bar stool, in a booth, or in a chair at a table in a dimly lit bar. It's a lonely place of few patrons and a sole proprietor: a red fox… or a woman in a red sweater and autumnal colors. Blink and she will remain what someone first saw. There's little decor in the place, mostly plain polished simple wood, but there are more dark corners than anyone can count. Tucked into those corners, under tables, and anywhere else vaguely discreet are plain weapons: guns, daggers, swords, and the like. Empty and still as the bar may be, that 'decor' may rouse suspicions, among veterans and newcomers alike.
Those already in Folkmore will find an entrance to the bar whenever and wherever they feel lonely, perhaps missing someone in particular. A half-hidden door will appear pressed between buildings in Epiphany, built into a hill in Willow, etched into the bark of a grand tree, and so on and so forth. Once patrons have entered the bar, the exit fades away into the background. It doesn't seem to have disappeared entirely, so much as always being just out of sight, around a corner, hidden in shadows, or otherwise out of reach. Looking for it, or trying to leave already, will bring the proprietor's attention to a Star Child, and she'll ask them to place their order.
She's hardly received any requests for drinks. What's missing more than anything else in the bar are patrons. Anywhere from thirty to a hundred people might fill the bar to capacity, but there's no more than a handful of other people present at the moment. What fills the rest of the place to the brim are shades. Born of Lore and regret, these spectral spirits start off thin and wispy, but they feed on the loneliness, regret, and other negative emotions people bring with them.
The longer people stay, the more shades crowd around them and feed on those emotions; the more solid, colorful, and real they appear. Not only that, the shades take on the appearance of those tied to someone's regrets: those they miss, those they've hurt, or those they've failed in some way to help. On the other hand, Star Children dim, lose color, and fade. Their energy and their ability to care what happens to them drain away to strengthen the shades surrounding them. Tempting as it may be to drown one's sorrows with drinks, that course is a dangerous one. Fade away long enough, and Star Children risk turning into shades themselves—and losing themselves into being someone else's regrets. If a Star Child turns into a shade, their shades rapidly fade back to their original ghostly form and seek out their next source of energy.
The way to quiet these ever-hungry ghosts is simple: connection with the living. Ordering a drink or greeting someone will grant a brief reprieve. Speaking with someone at length holds the shades at bay. Speaking about one's regrets? No matter whether Star Children receive simple commiseration or an objective, grounding response that suggests a path towards personal growth on the subject, the interaction will cut the connection with the shade, and it will fade away. Should that shade be a recently-faded Star Child, they solidify in their seat, a real and solid person with the chance to connect again.
There's more than one way to form a connection, so whether it's a newcomer who'd rather fight than talk or an old hand who knows weapons lying around come with a catch, patrons who pick up a weapon (or two) and fight each other's shades together can also vanquish them. But beware: taking up arms to fight sends one's own shades into a frenzy, surrounding their patron and draining them faster. There's no requirement to aid each other, and others can ignore what terrible end comes to that person… but if they regret failing to help? That lost person becomes their new shade. Better hope someone's more helpful and generous of spirit then.
Anyone who makes a solid connection with another bar patron will find that they can see the exit. Freedom, at last. Furthermore, when settling their tab, the bartender passes one last item over—an object from home, tied somehow to one of their regrets, even just the simple regret that it hadn't come along for the Star Child's original journey to Folkmore because it'd be so useful now. This item may even be a weapon or magical item.
New Star Children arrive as motes floating in light to land on a bar stool, in a booth, or in a chair at a table in a dimly lit bar. It's a lonely place of few patrons and a sole proprietor: a red fox… or a woman in a red sweater and autumnal colors. Blink and she will remain what someone first saw. There's little decor in the place, mostly plain polished simple wood, but there are more dark corners than anyone can count. Tucked into those corners, under tables, and anywhere else vaguely discreet are plain weapons: guns, daggers, swords, and the like. Empty and still as the bar may be, that 'decor' may rouse suspicions, among veterans and newcomers alike.
Those already in Folkmore will find an entrance to the bar whenever and wherever they feel lonely, perhaps missing someone in particular. A half-hidden door will appear pressed between buildings in Epiphany, built into a hill in Willow, etched into the bark of a grand tree, and so on and so forth. Once patrons have entered the bar, the exit fades away into the background. It doesn't seem to have disappeared entirely, so much as always being just out of sight, around a corner, hidden in shadows, or otherwise out of reach. Looking for it, or trying to leave already, will bring the proprietor's attention to a Star Child, and she'll ask them to place their order.
She's hardly received any requests for drinks. What's missing more than anything else in the bar are patrons. Anywhere from thirty to a hundred people might fill the bar to capacity, but there's no more than a handful of other people present at the moment. What fills the rest of the place to the brim are shades. Born of Lore and regret, these spectral spirits start off thin and wispy, but they feed on the loneliness, regret, and other negative emotions people bring with them.
The longer people stay, the more shades crowd around them and feed on those emotions; the more solid, colorful, and real they appear. Not only that, the shades take on the appearance of those tied to someone's regrets: those they miss, those they've hurt, or those they've failed in some way to help. On the other hand, Star Children dim, lose color, and fade. Their energy and their ability to care what happens to them drain away to strengthen the shades surrounding them. Tempting as it may be to drown one's sorrows with drinks, that course is a dangerous one. Fade away long enough, and Star Children risk turning into shades themselves—and losing themselves into being someone else's regrets. If a Star Child turns into a shade, their shades rapidly fade back to their original ghostly form and seek out their next source of energy.
The way to quiet these ever-hungry ghosts is simple: connection with the living. Ordering a drink or greeting someone will grant a brief reprieve. Speaking with someone at length holds the shades at bay. Speaking about one's regrets? No matter whether Star Children receive simple commiseration or an objective, grounding response that suggests a path towards personal growth on the subject, the interaction will cut the connection with the shade, and it will fade away. Should that shade be a recently-faded Star Child, they solidify in their seat, a real and solid person with the chance to connect again.
There's more than one way to form a connection, so whether it's a newcomer who'd rather fight than talk or an old hand who knows weapons lying around come with a catch, patrons who pick up a weapon (or two) and fight each other's shades together can also vanquish them. But beware: taking up arms to fight sends one's own shades into a frenzy, surrounding their patron and draining them faster. There's no requirement to aid each other, and others can ignore what terrible end comes to that person… but if they regret failing to help? That lost person becomes their new shade. Better hope someone's more helpful and generous of spirit then.
Anyone who makes a solid connection with another bar patron will find that they can see the exit. Freedom, at last. Furthermore, when settling their tab, the bartender passes one last item over—an object from home, tied somehow to one of their regrets, even just the simple regret that it hadn't come along for the Star Child's original journey to Folkmore because it'd be so useful now. This item may even be a weapon or magical item.
- New Star Children arrive in a dim, mostly empty bar.
- Kuma Lisa is the bartender, in fox or human form.
- Shades feed on Star Children's negative emotions, draining them, and taking the appearance of people they miss.
- Connection is how Star Children ward off shades. Talking about regrets makes one safe from shades.
- Star Children can also take up weapons and fight shades. It sends your shades into a frenzy.
- Star Children can turn into shades if they are fed on long enough. When others connect, it can de-shade them to try again.
- Those who form connections can see the exit and leave. They also get an item from home related to one of their regrets.
Content Warnings: Forced Relocation, Forced Body Modification, Forced Conversation/Revelations
Not every bottle in the bar is full of alcohol, a mixer, or even a far weirder spirit. They don't contain Folkmore's spirits at all; Kuma Lisa has skipped straight to bottling Star Children. Each bottle contains a single Star Child, and the label's design reflects what they might taste like, were they alcohol. Those inside experience a soft place to sit and reflect on their lives surrounded by thick glass walls that permit light through while distorting the view into indistinct shapes. There's no way to break the glass from within, and no way to tell which bottles are for bar service and which bottles contain Star Children from without. There's no way to signal someone outside to provide a direct rescue, but never fear: there is a simple way out.
Everyone inside the bottle has their Relic, even if they usually don't have it on their person. Sitting in this round or round-esque room with no exit, messages about missing someone begin to be exchanged—the first message each Star Child sends ghost-written (rather than willingly sent) about someone they miss, and signed 'the true thoughts and feelings of one [Star Child].' As advertised, the message is true. It also resonates with the recipient, some similarity between them and the missed person. Perhaps it can be the start of a beautiful friendship (or the world's most awkward exchange, but who's counting?). At least the Star Child behind this message is predisposed to like something about the recipient, however grouchy their exterior. If a conversation goes well, a system message will pop up asking each person if they would like to talk face-to-face. Should they both agree, they are poured out of their bottles to land safely on the garnish in a drink. The drink isn't massive. The Star Children are tiny!
That's right, these tiny Star Children float on a garnish-raft in a cocktail at the lonely Bar None above. They have a nice umbrella to provide them shade, and it's all set for a cozy conversation if they so wish. As these tiny Star Children talk, the drink around them will show related memories reflected on the surface. These reflections stick around until the conversation is over or someone, preferably someone with a bigger stomach, drinks it. Spills continue to reflect memories and cannot be mopped up so much as cleanly pushed into a fresh glass. A larger patron cannot drink the tiny Star Children. Kuma Lisa will stop anyone drinking from a glass with Star Children still on it.
Star Children who decide that 'no, they shall not discuss this matter after all' may attempt to flee, but being an inch or so high has its own problems. The bar is massive, the shades may become violent, and they are but a small, small person. Even those who can normally shapeshift or alter their size find they cannot make themselves any bigger! At the end of the day, whether with their original partner or another tiny Star Child, the only way to get bigger is to be the bigger person… and talk about those feelings.
Star Children who remain tiny by closing time, whether they stay locked in their glass prison or scattered around the bar, will be tucked back into bottles (as needed) and those bottles laid gently on their sides, which reorients the space inside to a tiny bedroom. Each bottle warms to the temperature to help its resident sleep comfortably. Larger patrons join them. Kuma Lisa shrinks any larger patrons who cannot leave and deposits them safely in bottles away from the shades. No one is missed, so there is no free rein in the bar overnight. Bedtime (bar) snacks will be provided, as well. The bartender takes good care of her patrons regardless of their size, with the only damper being that one remains in a bottle to hope for better results the next day. Star Children can take as much time as they need. Kuma Lisa is patient.
Not every bottle in the bar is full of alcohol, a mixer, or even a far weirder spirit. They don't contain Folkmore's spirits at all; Kuma Lisa has skipped straight to bottling Star Children. Each bottle contains a single Star Child, and the label's design reflects what they might taste like, were they alcohol. Those inside experience a soft place to sit and reflect on their lives surrounded by thick glass walls that permit light through while distorting the view into indistinct shapes. There's no way to break the glass from within, and no way to tell which bottles are for bar service and which bottles contain Star Children from without. There's no way to signal someone outside to provide a direct rescue, but never fear: there is a simple way out.
Everyone inside the bottle has their Relic, even if they usually don't have it on their person. Sitting in this round or round-esque room with no exit, messages about missing someone begin to be exchanged—the first message each Star Child sends ghost-written (rather than willingly sent) about someone they miss, and signed 'the true thoughts and feelings of one [Star Child].' As advertised, the message is true. It also resonates with the recipient, some similarity between them and the missed person. Perhaps it can be the start of a beautiful friendship (or the world's most awkward exchange, but who's counting?). At least the Star Child behind this message is predisposed to like something about the recipient, however grouchy their exterior. If a conversation goes well, a system message will pop up asking each person if they would like to talk face-to-face. Should they both agree, they are poured out of their bottles to land safely on the garnish in a drink. The drink isn't massive. The Star Children are tiny!
That's right, these tiny Star Children float on a garnish-raft in a cocktail at the lonely Bar None above. They have a nice umbrella to provide them shade, and it's all set for a cozy conversation if they so wish. As these tiny Star Children talk, the drink around them will show related memories reflected on the surface. These reflections stick around until the conversation is over or someone, preferably someone with a bigger stomach, drinks it. Spills continue to reflect memories and cannot be mopped up so much as cleanly pushed into a fresh glass. A larger patron cannot drink the tiny Star Children. Kuma Lisa will stop anyone drinking from a glass with Star Children still on it.
Star Children who decide that 'no, they shall not discuss this matter after all' may attempt to flee, but being an inch or so high has its own problems. The bar is massive, the shades may become violent, and they are but a small, small person. Even those who can normally shapeshift or alter their size find they cannot make themselves any bigger! At the end of the day, whether with their original partner or another tiny Star Child, the only way to get bigger is to be the bigger person… and talk about those feelings.
Star Children who remain tiny by closing time, whether they stay locked in their glass prison or scattered around the bar, will be tucked back into bottles (as needed) and those bottles laid gently on their sides, which reorients the space inside to a tiny bedroom. Each bottle warms to the temperature to help its resident sleep comfortably. Larger patrons join them. Kuma Lisa shrinks any larger patrons who cannot leave and deposits them safely in bottles away from the shades. No one is missed, so there is no free rein in the bar overnight. Bedtime (bar) snacks will be provided, as well. The bartender takes good care of her patrons regardless of their size, with the only damper being that one remains in a bottle to hope for better results the next day. Star Children can take as much time as they need. Kuma Lisa is patient.
- Star Children are transported into a bottle at Bar None with their relics.
- Ghost-written messages start conversations between bottled Star Children about people they miss.
- Star Children who agree to talk about it in person get poured out safely onto a garnish in a cocktail. The cocktail reflects related memories.
- Star Children can get up to chaos when tiny but cannot grow or escape. The only way to get big is to be the bigger person (and talk).
- Star Children, large and small, who cannot leave by closing time are returned (or kept) in bottles. Bottles are turned sideways, have bedrooms, and bar snacks are provided.
no subject
Technically she passed the trial with some help. The problem was what she did afterwards. Being near them was tiring, as if eating away at her. And the shades were certainly becoming bright bit by bit as they fed off of One's issues.
"Everyone at this table, apart from you of course...I failed. And the more it's repeated, the more paralyzing it is, that I can do nothing and it just repeats."
no subject
Alluka sips her drink and listens. "You're talking about the past," Alluka points out, "You failed them, so okay that's not going to change because that's the past. You can't change the past. That doesn't mean you'll fail them again."
Sometimes things go poorly, but that's more reason to try something different. She eyes the shades, all of them intent on the other girl, and frowns. Hopefully being a real person will matter to some degree.
no subject
Given how Thirteen brought her here after a sword went through her skull anyway.
"I'm still torn on what will happen if Thirteen does bring them here. Either I must perform my duty properly, or they arrive here like me, curse gone from their bodies...but with rage in their hearts for my failure."
She had thought herself ready to face their wrath, at least verbally. But seeing the shades blankly stare at her, it felt like she was being judged. And it affected her more than she would like to admit. All the training in the world wasn't doing much for strengthening the resolve she kept trying to find.
She took a sip from her drink, and it soon turned into her downing the entire glass, as if to feel something. Of course, it was just water, not doing much. Eyes quickly scanned the faces of each sister, before sighing.
"And yet despite it all, I miss them all so much...except for Zero."
And yet her killer's shade was at the table, staring blankly, just like all the other siblings here.
no subject
She doesn't know enough to comment on the curse, the girl's duty, or how these people might arrive in Folkmore. Much as Alluka longs to reassure her, she cannot. That is terrible, but she focuses on what she can.
"It's okay to miss people," Alluka says, "I miss my family, even though most of them don't consider me family. Only Big Brother. When you love people, it doesn't matter how complicated it is or how mad at you they might be, you still love them. That's a good thing, I think. It's good that you love them."
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"Why do they not consider you family?"
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"I share my body with my sister, and she's not human. So that makes us not family," Alluka says. Perhaps Nanika isn't a Zoldyck by blood because their blood is Alluka's, but she's a part of their family. They're the only family she's known. She huffs. "That's how they see it, but you can't just stop being family like that."
no subject
"When you say 'share your body,' is it similar to a possession? A symbiotic relationship?"
There at least seemed to be an awareness and bond present based on what Alluka had said.
no subject
"I'm not possessed. No one's possessing each other," Alluka says, "Symbiotic relationship sounds like we're a lichen, but I guess that's better than possession. Maybe think of us like twins, except we're in the same body. We've been together our whole lives!"
That sounds right to her.
no subject
On the one hand, it would have brought some concern, warranted by this unknown factor. However, to instantly be disowned...she couldn't help but feel a bit angry on Alluka's behalf, reminded of the fierce rejection Zero had given her. Unforgivable really.
"In a way, I can understand. However...it's still far too cruel to do to your own kin."
no subject
She sucks more water up the straw because that answer leaves out more than it explains by a longshot, but it's not exactly the time to talk about accidentally killing butlers because her parents gave them stupid orders.
"They were scared, so they tried to keep our family, the rest of our family, safe." They kept her safe too. They gave her food, books, plushies, and more. Everything a girl could need besides people.
no subject
"Even so...to trap your children like that...Still, you were lucky to have a dependable and kind brother like that."
Despite the tone of the conversation, there was something positive happening. Namely color slowly returning to One while the shades grew darker, fading bit by bit. One though hadn't noticed it just yet.
no subject
"He's amazing. We get to see the whole world because of him! He even parted ways with his best friend so we could spend some time together. It's the best." She misses him, but it's good to talk about him. Her life keeps her busy, and she cannot spend all her time moping (he wouldn't want that), but it's good.
"I wonder sometimes... if my family were here, if they saw me here, maybe they'd see they don't need to be scared. We could spend time together like family. Not just short visits in my room." Some shades move away from Alluka as she continues to talk. She hasn't noticed them, the others besides One's shades who look a little paler now. Hopefully they're okay.
no subject
The words come out of One's mouth faster than she expects, no chance to hold back her thoughts. But she could hardly deny it either. If Zero had settled on locking up them up all like that, she would have been angry. But then she looks to the side, spotting the shade of her brother, the only shade still somewhat more visible than the others. Ah, they were fading now? Then she could guess what his might involve.
"...I once locked away my brother, for his own good, to make sure Zero didn't know he existed." She started, confessing her own guilt as she stared back down at her hands. "At least, that's how I saw it. He...I shouldn't have done that to him. It was because of myself being selfish that I trapped him. I only hope that with his freedom, he can live a good life."
no subject
She reaches out a hand, an offering that can be taken if One so likes. She understands people try to do good. They try to protect people. After all, her parents could have killed her without her or Alluka seeing it coming. They're assassins. That'd be easy. They didn't. "It's good you wanted to protect him. I'm glad you let him go. Whatever life he lives, it's his, and that makes it good."
no subject
But she did take Alluka's hand gently, giving a sad smile. "I don't quite think I can count my death as letting him go, but...hopefully the world I left behind can help him find something to live for."
And with that, the shades had faded, leaving Alluka and One at the table. One still worried for her kin, but she did genuinely hope her brother found some semblance of peace with her passing.
no subject
"I suppose not," Alluka admits. It's hard to imagine her family all dying while she was in her room and maybe only Big Brother being left and freeing her. Or a butler coming to ask a favor. It's unthinkable. Her family is too strong and smart for that. They also value their survival and their family's well being too much to take it all for granted. Yet Alluka loves her family, even though they locked her up, so there's a good chance One's brother loves her.
"There's a lot in the world. Even trying to find something can be something to live for."
cw: slight mention of suicide
But the flower wasn't here. Not even her sisters were. It was just One versus all of the guilt.
One can't help but chuckle, closing her eyes. "It's certainly what I'm trying to do now. Grief is a powerful thing, but I doubt my family would prefer I do nothing."
And accomplishing nothing in the library had been her biggest failure, months spent grieving each sister lost and her plans coming to ruin. Repeating it and drowning in despair, she couldn't afford to do it again.
no subject
"I'm they want good things for you. You can bring them a lot of joy living a happy life." Alluka isn't sure if there's more One's family would want for her, but Folkmore is a good place to get one's bearings again, so first things first. A good life. Then whatever else One's life entails.
"It's okay to feel grief. To be sad. It's a part of love and shows you have heart."
no subject
At Alluka's words, she nods, tears slowly working their way down her cheeks. That was...odd. One though only being near her sisters or Gabriella could make her like this. To weep in front of another, part of her felt relieved, like when she first explained her story of woe to another.
Though One remained silent, and even in a tight embrace, for the first time in a while, she had felt...free.
no subject
"You don't have to do it alone," Alluka assures her. "You can find friends, even family, here in Folkmore. Even if the rest of my family never accepts me, I've found a lot of brothers and a sister here. I know I'm loved."
There's still no one that feels like a parent in her life, but brothers are fantastic. Being loved is good.
no subject
But One doesn't push Alluka away, and nods once the young girl does release her. Tears are still forming, and the burden she forced herself to carry for so long felt so much lighter now.
"Hopefully when I prove myself capable...I can count myself among them."
no subject
She bites her lip. The shades have generally stayed away from her, the way she opens up to people so easily preventing them from taking the shapes of her entire family. (Even though it's been so long since they were all together for a family portrait, at least one with her in it). However, one shade vaguely takes a shape that would fit in with them. Alluka sighs.
"Satoru went home," she admits. "I don't know why. I miss him. I don't blame him, and I hope he finds a way to keep the people he loves closer than he originally did." It's a nice thought, if one hard to learn whether it's true. Yet Sephiroth goes home and remembers Folkmore. It's possible.
no subject
"Sometimes, life can throw obstacles we simply aren't ready for," she spoke calmly, wiping away the tears that had formed earlier. "I can't speak for them, but if they have the power to return, if they were still alive, they could at least try to change their fate."
Unlike her at least.
no subject
"He was still very young, only a few years older than me," she adds. "There's a lot we aren't ready for, but that's why we have each other. Even sitting next to Suguru and watching things together made me feel better. He did that for me."
Alluka looks over at One and offers her hand to squeeze. "You're not alone either."
no subject
At the hand squeeze, One returns the gesture, still at a loss for words. Alluka had done more to heal her soul than most in this realm. Her composure had shifted since hiding behind her mask, leading her to smile.
"Thank you, truly. And you're far from being short of friends in this world either."
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