February-March 2024 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

February-March 2024 TDM

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.

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.

[ Soon You'll Get Better ★ Netfox & Chill]

Soon You'll Get Better . ★

Content Warnings: Power Nullification, Potential Kidnapping, Potential Animal Spirit Harm

The island of Never Fade can no longer be seen in the sky from elsewhere in Folkmore, enclosed within a large purple tinted cloud. Within that cloud, the island is under water—a dreamy purple underwater that all Star Children can breath in if they breath and function in if they function on electricity, so on and so forth. It causes no more difficulties than reduced visibility and greater effort to walk. It's even possible to swim underneath the island, so long as Star Children make sure to make landfall before they get too exhausted and… well… fall.


Friendnapped

The purple water has streaks of silver shot throughout it. Beware, these silver streaks neutralize powers, canon and role abilities alike, for at least an hour. A neutralized Legend won't be able to sense others in danger. A neutralized Myth won't sense danger coming. A neutralized Familiar won't be able to shapeshift to help others. That may set of a danger alarm but not any spidey-sense. These silver streaks are harbingers of spirits recently returned to Folkmore thanks to donations at the Shattered Spoon Shrine: lonely sharks.

The source of the silver streaks in the water, these silver gray sharks swim up and gently bite people. These bites make people go instantly limp but otherwise don't do any damage. They won't even break the skin. Once limp, the lonely sharks take their prey new best friends down to a cave or grotto off the underside of Never Fade. These caves are full of silver water, saturated by the magic of lonely sharks, and the entrances are covered by a thin silver barrier that prevents Star Children from leaving. That means should a Star Child track down where someone is being kept, should they enter its home, they too will be trapped there.

Being held by the lonely sharks isn't the worst experience. These spirits will try to please their new friends, giving them their favorite foods and perhaps even an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item. Mind, the magic of these items will be neutralized in the shark's cave. It is possible to fight a lonely shark, even to kill one, but that will only be a temporary measure. Star Children will remain trapped and have to wait for the lonely shark to revive—with even more golden cracks than before. In the end, the only way to escape are hugs, cuddles, and other measures of friendship. Once all the golden cracks have thinned and disappeared, Star Children can leave.

Spread the Love

By the time mid-March comes around, most of the lonely sharks have been fully healed and no longer kidnap Star Children. Instead they swim the None of the Above tunnels below the island's surface, where they provide guidance to Star Children who ask them how to get somewhere. If Star Children have nowhere particular in mind, the lonely sharks encourage Star Children to make their way toward the Shattered Spoon Shrine.

The lonely sharks still create silver streaks in the water that neutralize powers, but they will accompany Star Children and warn them of some of the dangers. When voices call their names, the sharks will snuggle up against Star Children to provide comfort. They're devoted to helping Star Children reach the shrine. Once there, they will encourage the Star Children to donate Lore to one of the broken spoons there, each spoon representing spirits who have left, spirits who became shells of themselves from lack of lore, or ghosts.

Star Children who donate Lore will find their companion lonely shark presenting them with an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item. Mind, the magic will be neutralized until the Star Child has spent at least an hour away from the silvery water lonely sharks create. Lonely sharks will happily spend as much time with Star Children as they're willing but will show the way back to the surface either via LIM (Lavender Institute of the Mind) or the None of the Above tunnels.

• Never Fade is underwater within a cloud.
  
• Silver streaks in the water neutralize powers, both canon and Role based.
  
• Lonely sharks kidnap Star Children and take them to caves on the underside of Never Fade.
  
• Star Children who find those caves are trapped too.
  
• Escape by hugs, cuddles, and being friends.
  
• By the second month, most lonely sharks are healed and found in the tunnels.
  
• Lonely sharks guide Star Children to the Shattered Spoon Shrine to donate Lore to help others.
  
• Either when captive or once donating Lore, lonely sharks will give Star Children an item from home.

Netfox & Chill . ★

Content Warnings: Forced Relocation, Potential Secret Revelation, Potential Coerced Physical Intimacy

With the wide range of Star Children from many different worlds, sharing similarities, it's no surprise when moments of deja vu happen. That sense of the familiar with the new, the sense of something that happened before without quite being able to place it… or perhaps it being impossible. Regardless, when that connective moment happens, the Star Children involved are transported to a windmill home from the Cloud Colonies. They land together on a couch before a large television with all the makings of a movie night. There could be wine and cheese. There could be soda and popcorn. There could be tea or other hot beverages. There's a cozy blanket (only one). The movie has already been selected, and it starts playing.

Headliner

The movie is roughly based off one of the Star Children's lives, specifically for the Star Child that experience deja vu and triggered this experience. Regardless of the moment of deja vu, the plot of the movie is based off of some real or potential relationship—romantic or queer platonic—in their life. That Star Child can recognize some similarities immediately. If they had any doubts, they get a text message on their relic as the movie starts:

You need to get closer with your companion(s). You can either talk about what happened (or didn't) or not talk wink wink about it with them. The choice is yours (and theirs)! Have fun!

It's possible to ignore the message, at least for a while. The longer the movie plays, the more apparent it becomes that it's based off that Star Child. The starring character's clothes will change to resemble theirs. The cadence of their voice will shift to imitate theirs. Their facial features will shift. These changes will become more and more heavy handed as the movie goes on until even the most clueless companion will have real trouble not picking up on it. It may get harder and harder to distract them from talking about it! There's no pause button, and the only way to mute the movie is to *ahem* distract themselves from it until it becomes an indistinct background murmur.

Remake

If any Star Children thought this experience might have been a Valentine's Day prank, they'll be poorly mistaken come mid-March when it continues with a twist. The movie less closely resembles any one Star Child's life (whew?)… because it blends the lives of all those present together into a new story. One character is based off each Star Child, and it fits the other Star Child into the role of someone who was or could have been emotionally and/or physically intimate with them. If they had any doubts, each Star child gets a text message on their relic as the movie starts:

You need to get closer with your companion(s). You can either talk about what happened (or didn't) or not talk wink wink about it with them. The choice is yours (and theirs)! Have fun!

Not only does each Star Child have to decide what approach they want to take, but the other Star Child may pick up on what they're putting down! One Star Child may want to talk it out, but the other one desperately doesn't. Oh noes, how shall it be resolved? Well, the longer it takes, the more clearly the film demonstrates one way they could resolve it—a fictionalized ending, happy or sad or bittersweet or anything else, between the characters as they more closely resemble those watching them on the sofa. No one's free until they have a heart to heart or a something to something else. Any physical intimacy can do.

• Experience a moment of deja vu and get transported to a cozy living room in a Cloud Colony windmill.
  
• For the first month, the 'host' Star Child gets a text letting them know to get intimate—emotionally or physically.
  
• For the second month, all Star Children get that text.
  
• For the first month, the movie is based on the 'host' Star Child's experiences, what did or could have happened. As the movie progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that's the case.
  
• For the second month, the movie is a story blending Star Children's experiences together. That too will become more obvious over time.
  
• Some form of intimacy is the only way out!

Comments

[strikingvow]

[She's quiet for a moment, her fingers twisting in his jacket.] You were going to leave even if you hadn't died, then? That goodbye was planned in advance, because you didn't know what was going to happen. [Which meant he'd been planning to leave her anyway.

Not that she would have accepted it if he had lived.] Did you really think I would have just let you go like that?

[itsamechamaru]

Ah. No. [ Well. That's not quite right. He likely could've been cast out - but that's not what she means. He hadn't wanted to walk away at all. ]

The contingency for my robotic messages to go off- [ Which they must have. ] Was my death. If I hadn't died, then it wouldn't have gone off. I would've been able to give warning...

[ He sighs. He's been dissecting this to no end. ] Doesn't matter.

[strikingvow]

[She's quiet for a moment before she sighs.] I'm still mad at you but ..you're here and that's more than enough for me right now.

What have you been doing? [She'll address other things later.]

[itsamechamaru]

Um... [ That's a pretty good question. ]

Not a lot. I have an apartment. I've met a couple of other people. Inumaki delivers me food so I don't starve to death.

[strikingvow]

You don't leave your apartment, do you? [Because that is exactly what he'd do.]

Inumaki is here?

[itsamechamaru]

[ He glances away. She's right. ] I do, sometimes.

[ A little nod. He might not be showing up physically, but he's not entirely out of the loop. ]

He's been here the longest. Uh, Okkotsu and Maki are here too, on the same floor as me. Gojo and Suguru Geto are here, but are also teenagers. Nanami-san is here, and a guy named Haibara who I don't really know. There's a warning too, that if you meet Fushiguro Toji, he's dangerous.

[strikingvow]

We can work on that. Explore together and figure out things we can do. Since you owe me. [And she's going to collect on it every day for the rest of their lives.

Definitely.]

So there's a lot of- [She trails off, his words registering.] Gojo-sensei is a teenager?

[itsamechamaru]

I cannot deny that. [ He does owe her, and he wouldn't even complain if it was for the rest of their lives. ]

He is. I met him. He liked my mech. [ Oh yeah, she hasn't seen that. ]

I built one, for transportation.

[strikingvow]

He's probably less intimidating as a teenager, though. [Which means she might even get pictures with him.]

...What do you want me to call you? I mean you..it feels wrong to call you Mechamaru with you not being...Mechamaru, if that makes sense.

[itsamechamaru]

[ That is true. He's less intimidating as a teenager. At least, he thinks so. ]

Muta Kokichi. [ He knows she doesn't know his name. He blushes and avert his eyes. ]

Mechamaru. Kokichi. Muta. I don't...I don't care. Whatever you want.

[strikingvow]

...So Muta or Kokichi? I mean you call me Miwa but.. [She trails off, glances up at him again.] What do you want to be called?

[itsamechamaru]

I do. [ Because he's a little rude, but not that rude. ]

Um. I really don't care. There's not- before being here I was just Mechamaru so.

[strikingvow]

I mean, yeah because that's what fit the robots you used. But- [Miwa trails off, makes a face. ]

Muta-kun, I guess. I can't use your first name yet, anyway.

[itsamechamaru]

Yeah. I know. I chose it. It's from an old anime. [ He's such a nerd. ]

I'm really glad you're okay. I'm sorry you're here, if you didn't want to be.

[strikingvow]

I made the choice to come. It's not like I was going to be much use back home and- [She'd wanted to try something else. ]

I might be of more use here than I ever was there.

[itsamechamaru]

It's not bad. [ But he can't help it- ]

You're not useless, Miwa. You never were.

[strikingvow]

I did the best I could. [But she'd never been as good as the others. ]

It seems a lot more peaceful.

[itsamechamaru]

[ He's not half as argumentative as he might be through text, but he believes in her regardless. ]

I haven't encountered any trouble so far. I've been warned about trials but I must've missed the last one.

[strikingvow]

Well, they might not be that bad though. [Especially with what she'd seen of Shibuya and the aftermath.]

You said you have an apartment though? I'm guessing it's not nearby though since it took you a while to get here.

[itsamechamaru]

It's not. You're in the underwater city. It's in Epiphany. You have to take a submarine and a train to get there.

[ They might not be so bad seems like the consensus, at least, he hasn't really heard otherwise. ] I've heard they're sometimes taxing.

[strikingvow]

...Was it difficult for you? [If it's that much of a trip, it might be.]

[itsamechamaru]

Not really. There wasn't that much walking. The apartment building is near the train station. All the sorcerers seem to live there. [ He's kind of indifferent to the place, but he went there because Maki brought him there. ]

[strikingvow]

Good. I wouldn't want you pushing yourself too much if it's a lot. I could have come and found you just as easily if you'd directed me.

[itsamechamaru]

No, uh, I'm not... [ He's unconditioned, but his stamina is improving. The initial exhaustion after the adrenaline rush of his final fight had scared him a little bit. He's more evened out. Kokichi is finding himself more mentally unstable than anything, with anxiety he had no idea about. He didn't really consider what he would do after. ]

I used to just move as Mechamaru because I was very sick. I'm not, anymore.

[strikingvow]

I'm glad you're not. I always wanted to meet you, you know. [And she wouldn't have cared what he looked like. It hadn't mattered.]

Have you spent much time here or are you more comfortable back at your apartment?