![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
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
Yet, in a world which produced Pokemon, did that word even carry the same connotations or was it different? His mind naturally tried to fit the concepts into something more familiar- the idea of 'legendary' pokemon was simple enough to grasp, it brought to mind ancient religions that had worshipped mythical beings whose form had not been human.
"Psychics, as I understand the word, aren't quite the same thing as us," Quattro agreed, "I've encountered others who have telekinesis here, and people who have spoken about telepathy, but I think what Newtypes are evolving to do is different."
Condensing the greater depth of understanding that could be conveyed from one Newtype to another down to simple words that could be just as easily misunderstood as if they were spoken seemed like a waste. Convenient, given the distances at which they could communicate, but it wasn't what they were meant to do.
And at that moment, Quattro deeply wished he understood Mewtwo's perspective on the symbiotic relationships he spoke of. Because it didn't sound good from Quattro's perspective, yet the explanation sounded more clinical than angry. Quattro would not have been able to speak as calmly about the terrible injustices of his own home.
"Saying that Pokemon act as pets," That seemed like a very deliberate choice of words, one Quattro was beginning to appreciate the nuance of, "And that there are also competitive Pokemon battles makes it sound like Pokemon are in an unfavorable and unequal position with humans in general."
He knew how horrible humanity was to itself, he couldn't begin to imagine how much worse humans could be to other species.
no subject
Yes, I see what you mean. Your abilities in some ways are more elegant and streamlined. All expressions of psionic energy that I'm familiar with requires conscious thought and effort. What you seem to be capable of is - and please correct me if I'm wrong - almost automatic.
...However you are correct that there are instances in which humans hold power over Pokemon. I am living proof of that. However those situations are the exception rather than the rule. A human can give orders to a Pokemon, but a Pokemon is not obligated or compelled to follow them, the Pokeballs that humans use to transport Pokemon can be released from the inside should a Pokemon ever desire to exit, and there are a plethora of safety measures in place within human society to ensure the well being of Pokemon.
Mewtwo sighs and casts his gaze down to the floor. Clearly there was a history there that he wasn't exactly proud of, but the shades did not advance. Whatever it was, he was at peace with it at least.
But, those exceptions that do use Pokemon for their own selfish gain have one important factor working in their favor that does enable them. There are Pokemon that have attitudes and values that align with their human partners, regardless of who it hurts.
no subject
Streamlined seemed for a moment like a polite way of saying simpler, but Quattro also knew that for many things a simple and elegant solution was preferable to something more complex. He considered it for a moment, that the things he took for granted required focus and attention for others. What would it be like, to enter a battle that wasn't full of the pressure produced by people's emotions and intentions?
"I'm not an expert on the processes involved, but producing both ordinary brainwaves and psychowaves happens automatically, it's simply part of who we are. Although stronger Newtypes can focus, and increase their output, I've only met two people who could do that. For the rest of us, dangerous situations certainly increase the rest of our abilities, so I assume that's stronger as well. Louder, maybe? Or perhaps more obvious is a better way to say it."
He started to reach out when Mewtwo sighed and looked down, but stopped himself, his hand only partly lifted. What was meant as comforting, and might be comforting to him, wouldn't necessarily be so well received. Particularly after the earlier wary display.
"It sounds like the places we're from aren't that different after all. There are laws meant to protect people, but that hasn't stopped the creation of labs where they experiment on people to make artificial Newtypes- not just to copy but to try to surpass our abilities. And there will always be those who will decide to support those with ill intentions because it suits their own desires."
He wondered if it was truly as much of an exception as Mewtwo said, or if so many of the times those safeguards failed were brushed under the rug. But that wasn't his home, he had no reason to doubt Mewtwo, so he didn't voice those doubts, not that failing to voice them would keep them to himself. That thought did make him think about the way Mewtwo had spoken about expressions of psionic energy.
"The telepathy and telekinesis are obviously conscious effort, but..." Mewtwo hadn't known what happy hour was. Quattro had been amused at his own bad joke of calling their current situation 'unhappy hour'. "You don't just naturally pick up on the stray thoughtwaves people have around you, do you. And that thing you did when I approached... you weren't reading my intent, either."
Being open enough to read the enemy's intentions in battle improved with practice and effort, but it certainly wasn't something he had done consciously when he was younger.
no subject
Mewtwo glances around, keeping an eye on the shades surrounding him, but they kept their distance for the most part and thus he attempted to ignore them. Whatever they wanted, the conversation he was holding seemed to be enough to satisfy them for the moment.
The telepathy I use is not a direct mind-to-mind link. It is closer to a broadcast, like radio waves. I simply broadcast what I wish to communicate, and any biological mind developed enough to achieve sapience will receive the broadcast in whatever language or sensation makes the most sense to them. I could theoretically establish a direct mind-to-mind link, but I do not. There is the obvious invasion of privacy that comes with such an action, but it would also be a two way street. Just as I would see everything that you try to hide, so to would you see everything I wish to hide.
It may sound selfish but I simply do not wish to put myself in such a vulnerable position.
Of course it was then that he noticed another of the shades that stood out from the otherwise uniform lab-coat wearing crowd. A woman with what seemed to be a black dress and a matching hat, her hair in loops hanging at her shoulders. He doesn't mention that such a two way street could of course be prevented, but it would mean the complete erasure of one party. A hollowing out of everything that made them unique.
It is not out of any desire to be apart from others, but considering the power I possess - and thus represent to those hungry for my power - it is simply safer for everyone involved if I keep my interaction with humanity to a minimum.
no subject
"I don't blame you for preferring not to do that, I wouldn't want to have that kind of connection with strangers. But I hope you find someone you want that kind of closeness with."
Quattro has, despite the fact that he hadn't been looking for it. Unfortunately, he can't actively control his abilities. Even if he could, he doesn't think he could connect with someone who lacked a similar ability of their own.
no subject
Mewtwo's eyes remained downcast as he raised a hand and motioned at the shades looming about him. He didn't elaborate further, but given what he had shared of his history, he was confident that Quattro could put two and two together.
Other Pokemon are far more... for lack of a better word, predictable. Comfortable. Pokemon do not have a need or desire for control the way the worst of humanity does. Any ambition they may hold are centered inward on themselves.
Mewtwo does glance upward, noticing the shades hovering around Quattro. Considering the relation he had to his shades, he could only assume that Quattro had similar tragedy following him around, but does not attempt to pry in that regard. He does note that the clothing of the shades feels almost at odds with Quattro's attitude. The girl in her dress seemed normal, but the uniform the man wore hinted to something that Mewtwo wasn't fully able to wrap his mind around. Of course that line of thought led to Mewtwo staring at the shade, head cocked in thought as he tried to reason things out. Of course he had seen uniforms before, but the uniforms Team Rocket wore were nothing like the ornate precision that Zeon's uniforms had. It was equal parts concerning and fascinating to Mewtwo.
no subject
"I hope you get to see the positive sides of such a connection, someday."
Quattro understands the desire for control. He feels it himself, after all, but recognizes it is a flawed impulse that needs to be put aside. Trying to exert that kind of control over others will not end well.
He turns his head to look at the shade that has drawn Mewtwo's attention, and frowns. Quattro would rather talk about almost anything else. "The woman in the yellow dress is Lalah," It takes Quattro a moment to actually look past the other shades lingering her near him to spot the curly brown hair, "And Amuro. He's been hidden away, and I'm sure he's the one they would've studied to try to replicate Newtype abilities in others. He and Lalah were the ones I connected with, although it was only for a brief moment. They stopped me from making one of the worst mistake of my life, I should've looked harder, and tried to find him again sooner."
Quattro has some very terrible mistakes in his life. The path he was heading down would've led to much worse.