August & September 2023 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

August & September 2023 TDM

Introduction

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This Test Drive meme is open to all.
Welcome to Folkmore's bimonthly 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.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Oh How Quiet . ★

Content Warnings: Difficulty seeing, possibility of drowning, forced relocation

Fog & Footsteps

Some Star Children find themselves on land. The air is foggy and damp, blurring and distorting vision making it difficult to tell where they are, what’s real and what isn’t until–finally–Star Children find themselves on wet sand. Continue marching forward and trees begin to form a skeletal border, dark shadows growing and stretching further into their depths. Star Children who have experienced being exiled before can feel a path through the trees should they choose to venture further. Star Children who haven’t been exiled can feel resentment building around them and have greater difficulty navigating the path ahead.

Anyone who glances back may find footsteps in the sand alongside theirs. The more anyone looks back, the more prints appear. They’re inconsistent like their maker hops or flies part of the time or fades in and out of the physical universe… or something else. They may be human, or animal, or something Star Children can’t quite put a name to.

The Will or the Wisp

The longer Star Children dwell on them, the more tempting they are to follow—familiarity, comfort, curiosity, something. The footsteps eventually lead Star Children down a branching path toward a wall of thick, colorless fog. Inside the fog, there are enchanting wisps of light dancing just out of reach, urging Star Children to keep following. Just a little further, the sweet voices promise.

Continue onward and soon outlines appear in the mist, showing just who (or what) the earlier footsteps belong to–distorted human or animal shapes that exist only where fog is displaced by the will-o’-the-wisps they carry like lanterns. They lure Star Children deeper into Exile, all the while making promises they have no intention of keeping...

Salvation comes in the form of a fellow Star Child guided toward someone in distress by shifting sands. They radiate starlight that pierces through the thick fog around them, allowing people to find the sandy forest path toward The Beach. Once Star Children reach it, they will both find an old, sea-battered treasure chest which offers characters a personal item from home and either a nonfunctional compass or lantern. A will-o-the-wisp will fly directly into the item, which doesn’t seem to make it work. The compass needle points toward somewhere in Exile, not north. The lantern doesn’t light up. However, when the Star Child is truly lost, the compass will point where they need to go and the lantern will light up any darkness. Each Star Child can only receive either the compass or the lantern.

A Magical Day

Whether passing directly through the forest path or guided back to it, Star Children find a shoreline extending in either direction. Some water laps against the beach, but farther out is the long expanse of tenuous reality. Come September, it fades into the distance until it can no longer be seen. The beach itself is in Exile, heavy with the weight of magic. It feels reassuring and encouraging. Star Children can indulge in a sunless day at the beach, playing in the sand, and soaking in the magic. Those wishing for a bit more warmth can explore the shoreline north to the Boat Bonanza at the port where the Encantado reaches the ocean.

Key Points:

🦊 Star Children may pass through a thick fog to reach a wet, sandy path that passes through trees and leads to The Beach in Exile.
🦊 If they keep looking behind them on the path they will find footprints following alongside their own. Those footprints will try luring characters deep into fog using will-o’-the-wisp lanterns, leading them into the swamp so they can drown them.
🦊 A fellow Star Child can act as a light to guide lost characters back to the safety of shore.
🦊 Star Children that are rescued from the lure or who rescue another Star Child will be rewarded with a non-weapon memento from home and either a compass or a lantern (not both).
🦊 Star Children that don’t succumb will simply continue forward to The Beach without issue and will have opportunities to find a non-personal item from their home worlds being sold at the market. See below.

Christening Ceremony . ★

Content Warnings: Possibility of drowning, fetch quests

Boat Bonanza

Whether venturing up the coastline from Exile, floating down the Encantado River, or simply being plopped into the water, Star Children new and old find themselves in water. A strong wave rolls up the beach to drag suspecting and unsuspecting alike. Playful pinkish-red dolphins spray people off boats into the river. Or Star Children find themselves treading water deeper than they are tall with no land in sight. No worries, those who need help getting out of the water will get it. Along the shore, spirits in boats will pick up anyone in need of a ride and bring them back through the fog to the sounds of shouts and cheers and music to a large clear spot in the fog.

Boats come into view. Boats of all shapes and sizes, from single person kayaks to large houseboats, fishing craft and sailboats. They rise and fall with the waves but aren't otherwise moving. Ropes, planks, and bridges tie the boats together. Whether approaching by river or by sea, new boats explore the outskirts of the great conglomeration of boats and attach themselves—increasing the size of the gathered ships. So many boats are gathered that the shore isn't visible from new boats tying up.

Everyone's welcome aboard and to wander from boat to boat. Starfish spirits offer games of chance at low tables on broad open decks under awnings. There are even holes in the bottom of the deck, so players can dip their feet in cool water. A cephalopod band plays upbeat music other spirits and Star Children can dance to in competition with a scavenging of seagull spirits singing sea shanties as loudly as they can two boats over. Far from them, jellyfish spirits offer places to rest in quiet, with curtains drawn and sound dampened. Many spirits offer food and drink—seafood or seafood shaped candy or in the case of mystery flavored taffy, sometimes seafood flavored candy. Those who don't want freshly rolled sushi or take a chance with the candies can always see the Wandering Dog cart on the shore, where the dogs try very hard to be included.

Flotilla Afterparty

Come September, nymphs pop up in the waters and start shooing the boats away until only the houseboats and some submarines remain. Some go off on their lonesome, but more of them form flotillas that float along the coastline continuing their activities and coming to shore to pick up any who wish to join them. A restaurant flotilla, a meditative flotilla, music performance flotillas, and even gambling flotillas. Should people want off and the boats aren't ready to go to shore, sometimes Catbus shows up, able to leap whatever the distance.

Fetchquest

At any time, during the boat festival or smaller flotillas, Star Children may find non-personal items from their home world for sale. It may be a weapon or magical item. These spirits can sense who is from the same world as an item and will only offer them to those Star Children. These aren’t free! After all, these spirits pulled up these items from chests in the water. Star Children will need to do a few favors or barter something else to obtain the item from home. Star Children who help in Vasilisa’s, now mostly staffed by spirits, will find they have an easier time bartering… unless it’s in the Cuttlefish Curiosities shop. If the cuttlefish spirit smells a whiff of the grumpy old octopus spirit who has taken over as chef, that Star Child will have to do twice the work.

Key Points:

🦊 Explore your way to Nereid where the Encantado reaches the shore or get dropped into the water.
🦊 Enjoy an enormous boat festival! All kinds of boats! All kinds of activities!
🦊 In September, the boat festival will split into multiple flotillas floating around the shoreline.
🦊 Do favors or barter goods to receive a non-personal item from home. It may be a weapon or magical item. A magical gun from your world? Yes. Your personal magical gun with your dog’s name engraved in it? No.

Comments

Tim Drake • DC comics • legend

[ployboy]

i. Will or the Wisp cw injury, mind altering substances, more tba

[Tim still isn't convinced White Ghost didn't mix something interesting into his tea. Trudging through a forest floor, leaves underfoot both crunchy and wet, he thinks that shoes would be welcome. But what's one simple discomfort in the face of brash promises? The boy stumbles here and there-- the injuries make that inevitable but they're all expertly packed and bandaged under fresh and fine clothes made for Iraq's nighttime heat.

Caution is for people who have something to lose.

Tim is steady, all things considered. The shadows and lights talk to him and he's in the fog unable to see far ahead. Every now and then, unassuming sparrow wings will give a heavy and agitated flap when they appear at his back, as (non)permanent as the conviction that he's doing the right thing--

but it's not about doing the right thing, it's about getting what he needs. Favors. Bodies.

Strength.]

ii. Fetchquest

"I don't know how to..."

Well, okay then. Tim is left to tend to the candy shack, his one attempt at a protest falling on deaf ears. Tim doesn't even know if Starfish have ears.

He just knows that his hair is still damp and the rest of him is still salty (heh) from an impromptu dip in the ocean. (Very uncalled for, very ill advised to the other unfortunate souls with gaping wounds- no? Just him? Well. Okay then.) He looks like a sorry, soggy little cat.

But there's a single leather piece for sale his eyes still wander to, shifting to a brighter blue than his stormy normal.

And so... he has to try. Tim can be found tidying up the stall, organizing and rearranging taffy and lollipops and other sweets. He shifts cutesy, chalky signs that announce the prices. He just... is maybe shy about shouting out the specials, or reluctant to bring attention to himself. Which is contradictory to the whole... tend the candy shack thing. Have pity on him.

[wildcard; fish him out of the water, follow him onto the boat show! hit me if you want anything in particular on plurk fourboars. Tim himself comes from his BruceQuest soooo, r.i.p.]

i. will or the wisp

[ruevealing]

[There is no explaining why Rue felt the pull that they did to step into the dense fog, but without a moment's hesitation, they allow themself to be fully engulfed in the thick, odorless haze, because they know without a shadow of a doubt that someone familiar is so very nearby.

It begins in pin-pricks of light piercing through the wall of fog, tiny rays that struggle to light the way as the darkness overtakes them. But then it is like a burst of starlight through the gloom, bright enough to dissipate the fogginess of the path directly in front of them, a shape so wildly inhuman moving closer to the boy.]

[ployboy]

[He thinks he's getting closer. Closer to the pot of gold, to the con, to the promise of a peaceful rest because all is right in the world again. Or maybe Tim believes this is it, for real this time: maybe he died. Maybe that's what the dream of the Fox was all about, maybe even the doctors of the Demon's Head couldn't patch him up together all the way.

He hopes Tam's okay.

And with a final burst of damned energy that Tim didn't know he had, he chases after the retreating darkness.

And if that's not a screwed up metaphor for what his life's become, he'll eat his shorts.

It's too bright, and there is no fog, and Tim thinks he hears... waves. He's not very intimidating as he stands his ground against the creature coming from the shore but the resolve in his every fiber of being makes up for it.] What do you want?

[--isn't this the thing he'd been following all along, the one he's going to bargain with or beg to?] What are you going to show me? Who are you?

[ruevealing]

[Rue hears Tim before they see him.

It is like being splashed with cold water, the way their stomach drops out from under them, smacked in the face with a startling realization they were hardly expecting. But the starlight radiating so peacefully from their own body lights the familiar face of a scruffy, messy-haired teenage boy and it feels like something right finally slots perfectly into place again.

Tim.

It doesn't matter that the boy is trying to scramble back into the darkness, Rue closes more of the distance between them, their heart-shaped face a mix of relief and joy at the very sight of him.]

Tim. It's me, it's Rue. I - Oh, I did not mean to startle you, little one. I did not even know it was you until just now. It has been so long, I can scarcely believe it...

[ployboy]

[The creature doesn't retreat. It's not one with the dark nothingness of the fog.

It's another dead end.

The hollow relief of his eyes adjusting to light again is tainted by the cloudy gray of them; he's entirely unaware of the fucking mood ring his eyes are now. They're trained on the creature not out of suspicion, but something more like spite.

Nothing. He gets nothing out of following the Fox or the Fog, then. The ugly frustration is directed inward. It just happens to be directed outward, too.]

What do you want from me? And how do you know me?

[Because, irritating as this detour has been, maybe if he strikes a deal--

but god, there's the sick fluttering of his stomach at the idea of being without the privacy of being unknown. Stripped from him again, huh. Figures.]

[ruevealing]

[Just as quickly as the relief lit up in Rue's face, something uncertain wrinkles at their brow.

No, this isn't right. There is no matching relief on the boy's face, no matching recognition in his expression, nothing but fear and frustration and something even wilder that Rue can't even begin to put a talon to. Here they are, a once feral animal caught from the woods, and even they are taken back by how wild this boy looks.

It looks as if he has been fighting his entire life. And it's true that there was so much of Tim's past that Rue never knew about back in Gloucester, but just how deep did it truly go?

Immediately at the frustration in his voice, the accusation that gets sucked up by the fog surrounding them, Rue retreats, stepping back some paces, giving the teen space. They will not crowd him and risk hurting him, not when he is like this.]

I - [And their throat tightens, the right words suddenly so far beyond their reach.] I do not want anything from you. I only - Tim, do you not know me? It's Rue. We - we met nearly a year ago. For a brief time, we lived together. Do you - [Rue has already met familiar faces in this world who do not remember them or their time at ADI. Is Tim another one of those? A different Tim entirely?]

Do you truly not remember me?

[ployboy]

It's a mistake. [Feral is the brand of yellow wolf-shift reflection in his eyes. It doesn't mind the clear and steady statement.

Observation, really. Clarification.

Tim had mourned losing his mind next to a broken bathroom sink plenty of times, sure, but it had never been a complete break from reality.

Yet here he is. Duped by a Fox. Questioned by a, uh. Uhm.

Those wings, the ones that are at his back and aren't there at the same time, the ones that are driving him fucking crazy beat the air ahead uselessly. Tim looks on at the... at them, at that someone else. He doesn't assign attacks to the talons this time. Rue had moved away, and it's a more powerful balm than their sorrowful expression could hope to be. That's not fair, is it? They...

Rue seems to be trying... something. Tim sucks in a breath but even that hurts.] No, I never-- it's a mistake. I think I'd remember you. But it's... true that you... know me. Does it happen often to you, Rue?

[ruevealing]

[A mistake. Well, Rue supposes the boy isn't wrong.

The realization is vicious, it alights a whole new slew of ugly fears within the owlbear - more friends arriving who do not know them, a missing husband with no memory of ever meeting Rue in the first place - but now is not the time to sit and dwell in such dismal feelings. First, they must get out of this horrible fog.

And there is just no scenario in which they leave without Tim at their side, no matter if he remembers them or not.]

This is the second time in so many days. Truth be told, I feel as if I should be taking offense to being so forgettable, but I know it is the fault of no one. It is this place, how it collects us.

[They take just a moment, just a brief second, to suck in a sharp breath and exhale, slow and purposeful, before Rue is clasping their talons together, broad shoulders straightening with all of their usual posture.]

Please, I know you have no reason to trust me and I promise that I shall not push you into remembering a thing, but Tim, the beach is just this way. [A tiny gesture behind them, from the direction they came.] Come with me out of this fog, to safety. I will not leave you behind to face whatever lives within this haze alone.

[ployboy]

[There's a lot of feelings to sort through. He doesn't even want to start. So Tim focuses his all to this space between the fog and the beach, the smell of sea salt and blood and a muggy evening and blood. Predictably, he's reluctant to move.] It wants to make me stronger.

[It's a lie the Fog told him. Tim usually fancies himself mildly intelligent.

Usually.]

What are you offering?

[ruevealing]

[If this was Rue's Tim, they would be absolutely smacking this boy upside the head.

But as it stands, Rue's head suddenly shakes, ruffling up their feathers and casting their radiant starlight all over, big eyes narrowing only slightly.]

Tim! You can not trust the unseen beings in the fog! [Bad!!!] They are only trying to deceive you. There is no strength to be gained by following them further into the dark.

[What would Tim even need such strength for?]

I can not offer the same promise of untold strength, no, but I can offer you safety and the warmth of a heavy blanket and a good meal. And perhaps, if you are so inclined, a new friend.

[ployboy]

[Wow, that's really bad. Not Rue's tidbit of wisdom, but their ability for persuasion is, uh. Lacking. That's good enough for Tim to figure they must be genuine, his scoff effectively masking what should be a dry laugh.]

I don't know. Safety's a big promise.

[His eyes are blue.

As if to prove his point, Tim forces one foot in front of the other and he loosely clutches at his left side. His shuffling is slower and more deliberate than is his norm. To him it's worthwhile.

And.

Because Rue is trying, and because Tim is Tim, he ducks his head only minutely and says,] Uhm.

I like your necklace.

[ruevealing]

[Oh, it's pretty awful plea, but it is absolutely straight from Rue's heart.

And truth be told, if Tim had tried walking away deeper into the fog, Rue would have just used Command and forced him to follow them to the beach anyway.

But it is a blessing that they don't have to resort to magic, as they watch the young teen clutch at his side as he approaches them. Even so unfamiliar with the wounds of war, it is obvious Tim is deeply hurt. The very second they have cleared the fog, Rue will turn the whole of their focus on healing him next.

But first, they must reach safety. If he begins to fall behind, they'll pick him up if they must.

Rue is just about to turn and begin to lead them back in the direction they've come, but seemingly out of nowhere, Tim's eyes - blue, as Rue remembers them - find the pendant dangling from their neck, half-buried in feathers. Without even thinking, their paw rises, talons delicately brushing over it's face.]

Oh. [Rue makes a very poor showing of hiding their how surprised they are by him noticing it.] Thank you. It was a wedding gift. I do not go anywhere without it.

[ployboy]

Rue... I don't know who you believe you knew.

[They're married. Tim knows that he's the one responsible for pumping the brakes. Or else he'll be responsible for another tragedy in a long string of tragedies.] You shouldn't be around me.

[Blue, the color of a lovely, delicate dress that hanged forgotten in the back of his mother's closet.]

It's dangerous. And you'll wind up killed.

[ruevealing]

[What is changed from this Tim to the Tim they knew?]

That is precisely why we must leave this terrible fog! [Rue knows it isn't at all what he means, but they wave him along, silently asking him to follow.]

I must ask that you put such worries out of your mind for now, Tim. It can be discussed further once we are back to the safety of the beach. [a beat, thoughtful and purposeful] Though I will assure you, I knew a different version of you for some time and nothing terrible ever befell me then.

flaps back in here w the textbook example of clinical depression

[ployboy]

That would be a first. [He thinks, even the trio in the sands he left behind would be lining up to slap him upside the head. The thick film of lament coats every word and even Tim is quickly growing tired of hearing it.

He follows Rue, dutiful and ungrudging. There's no more questions about what there is for him to gain, and what he had to lose was never a factor in the first place. So it only made sense.

The creature- Rue- is a giant. Tim nearly says, he can't see himself living in the company of anyone again. He can't imagine living with someone who exudes so much... just, so much.

Predictably, he hates the sand under his feet. The waves breaking look more gray than tranquil blue to him, and the salt in the air is humid. Heavy.

(He made a mistake following the Fox.)]

There's... no sun. Is it always like that?

[ruevealing]

[Oh Tim. The way he responds, the way he carries himself, even though he wears the face of the boy that Rue knew, so much of him is different. Sadder. Hopeless. Acting as if every person in his entire life has long let him down.

What is it that happened between this point in time before Tim met Rue back in Gloucester?

But Rue leads the boy out with nothing but a gentle sigh on their beak, following the light back to the sandy beaches, one step closer to being free of the fog.]

Not at all. As of late there has been a fog surrounding us, but most of my stay so far has been pleasant, the lands bathed in sunlight and fair weather. I am still learning myself, but it seems as if the fog is connected with something called Exile.

ii

[fogsong]

What's worth playing vendor for? [ Sharon asks as she approaches, offering a shy smile as she begins to look over the various candies on display. She's done a few favors by now herself but luckily none of them involved manning any of the stalls. Like him, she'd have spent that time adjusting candy and trying her damndest to be invisible. ]

climbing back onto... the internet..!!

[ployboy]

[His eyelashes flutter with quick blinking, the burden of being the tell; his heart's picked up the pace and it nearly seems to be working to hammer out of his chest. But a stranger doesn't need to know, and Tim's eyes are a warm shade of honey. Grounded. It is the freaking opposite of how he feels right now because,

hear him out,

he'd maybe assumed he was the only human here. A flush wants to spread across his cheeks in embarrassment. Tim keeps it at bay by weakly lifting a hand and pointing at his wrist to emphasize,] It's, uh. I saw someone with a wrist cuff-- it's a bracelet for sale. I think it's my friend's.

welcome back!

[fogsong]

Ah. [ There's some approval to her tone as she nods. ] All right, I guess a friend's bracelet is worth playing shopkeep for a while. [ She'd jump through hoops if she saw something that belonged to a friend. She shoots him a smile. ]

I gathered an hour's worth of seashells myself, all for a bunch of shiny stones. [ She pats a pouch on her hip, rattling the stones for emphasis. ] It could've been a worse exchange.

fetchquest

[dreamsofwings]

Eren is also still a little wet, hair pulled back away from his face but not yet dry. His clothes have more or less dried. He has no idea where his shoes went, but it's the beach so who cares. (He doesn't care most of the time anyway.)

The candy shack is new. He doesn't know what half the stuff there could possibly be.

The guy tending it right now isn't calling out or trying to get Eren's attention, but that suits Eren fine.

"What's this one?" he asks, pointing to an oversized green taffy wrapped in waxed paper. He's never seen taffy that he can remember, so he has no idea what it's like other than probably sweet.

ii. Fetchquest

[unphase]

Tinya nearly walks by until she gets a good glimpse at the young man apparently in charge. He looks pathetic in a cute way, like Moonlight after Tinya gives her her bath.

She supposes she can take pity on him and buy a few sweets.

Tinya herself looks a bit odd with her new, dramatic makeover courtesy of the Fox, but she's smiling nonetheless.

"You wouldn't happen to have any chocolates with caramel in them, would you? I'll take chocolate strawberry if you don't."