October & November 2023 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

October - November 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]

Candy Man . ★

Content Warnings: Potential nonconsensual physical changes

Tides doesn’t have a farmer’s market. However, it does have a regular artists’ fair. Spirits—and Star Children—can set up stalls to offer art they have already made or to make it right before people. On the spot commissions! It’s a great way to see a wide spread of the art available in Tides, on rare occasions even Jewelia’s own.

Within the artists’ fair is a makers’ square where everyone is invited to join an artist in learning to make some kind of art. It might be painting and wine. Lithography. Embroidery. You name it. Seriously, feel free to put a suggestion in the box of what Star Children would be interested in. The artists leading the space don’t all teach at Jewelia Academy. This could be the only chance to learn from them!

This time it’s making salt water taffy. Spirit Children can learn how to complete the process from start to finish with a bit of an arm workout. If they aren’t interested in or cannot handle the arm workout pulling the taffy, they can help a spirit wherever they’re interested. There is any flavor Spirit Children can imagine to flavor their taffy, even ones only found in their home worlds. Share a little culture!

Star Children may keep up to half of the taffy they make, but the rest will be offered to everyone coming through the makers’ square in the artists’ fair. Perhaps it’ll encourage other Star Children to make their own! Star Children, whether they make taffy or simply take free samples, will find that eating taffy can have an effect on them.

Eating taffy made by Legends will give Star Children color changing eyes that give away their mood, just like Legends. Eating taffy made by Myths will give Star Children horns, claws, or a tail that grows larger when they react more logically and less emotionally. Eating taffy made by Familiars will give Star Children animal features. These effects last from one-six hours.

Eating taffy made by Spirits has no effect at all!

🦊 Star Children can attend an artists’ fair and make salt water taffy.
🦊 Eating salt water taffy made by Star Children will give temporary features of that kind of Star Child.
🦊 Eating salt water taffy made by Spirits has no effect.

Creative Block Castles . ★

Content Warnings: Pocket universe, dungeon castle crawl, forced relocation

One of the many food carts in Tides serves homemade ice cream. The fox spirit serving it promises that it will provide a jolt of inspiration—even to Star Children who cannot eat. Even holding a cone or cup of the ice cream can jolt someone’s imagination, the fox says. It’s free as part of the welcome to Tides, but no one has to accept it, not even to hold. The fox spirit won’t cajole anyone, and Star Children can go along their way.

At least a few hours later, long enough to have forgotten the offer or to get frustrated by the lack of promised inspiration, Star Children fall down down down into a painted, sculpted, sidewalk chalked, or otherwise artistically bent world. They are as artistically made as the rest of the world around them. They match it, as do their one to three companions who arrive with them. They may be friends or strangers. They are compatriots in this strange world.

Whether starting deep in the bowels or high in a tower, this artistic world is that of a castle. A unique castle to each Star Child host. Elements of its design, decor, and mechanisms tie back to a creative endeavor of the host. For the castle is a direct manifestation of whatever project the Star Child host experiences creative block around, whether that’s art or science or anything else. It’s baked into the design. Not only that, the castle is under attack! Dragons or monsters or knights, oh my! Whatever attacks, the very creative idea may crumble if it doesn’t get solved.

Star Children who ate the ice cream will have an easier time shoring up defenses, buying time to think, and even experiencing a breakthrough moment of inspiration. Any companions who ate the ice cream will have an easier time helping the host. Regardless, the only way out is a breakthrough or to see the idea fall to uninspired ruin. Which will it be?

When a group breaks through, they return to Tides with up to four nearly identical dollhouse castles. A miniature doll of one party member will be in each dollhouse. The doll will also have a miniature version of an item from home. Take it from one’s doll, and it becomes lifesize. It may even be a magical item or weapon.

🦊 Star Children will be offered homemade ice cream by a fox spirit.
🦊 Star Children will be transported into an artistic world set within a castle under attack.
🦊 1-3 other Star Children will join the host.
🦊 Escape by breaking through the host’s creative block.
🦊 Star Children whose groups break through will receive a personal item from home. It may even be a magical item or weapon.

Comments

[whowillmourn]

As one of the last of his kind, one of a species going extinct, a species that treated humans abominably, Mayerling expects little consideration from humans, so shaped by the majority of their experience, too shaped in fact to bother differentiating between vampires now, and even should they have no experience with vampires, the meddling in their genetics makes them prone to fear and its plethora of reactions rather than reason. While this newcomer's experiences make her detest humans, Mayerling loves them for the whole wide range of life and living they have, a tenacity toward survival in his world that Maleficent might even find in common, should she not think about their human nature.

"Should you wish to stay in Exile particularly, despite its dangers, I have heard stories of small cabins and the like revealing themselves to those who wish to live there, though I have never searched for it myself. After so long a period alone, I prefer to live in a neighborhood with others for company," Mayerling shares.

He considers the response to roles and traits and shrugs. "The responses vary from person to person. Some dislike being altered against their will. Others are delighted to have magic, to fly, to turn into animals, to see in the dark... Still others are neutral, simply accepting that this is who they are here. Those who dislike matters take greater issue with the affront to their autonomy than with other particular matters, and that can come from the trials as much as the touch of magic."

Not all trials bother everyone, same as not everyone is pleased by them. "I must say you feel like a kindred spirit, and I would be glad to further our acquaintance after today."

[faenix]

"How generous of you to inform me of that. Perhaps I shall venture there once I..." well, figure out how. He's already stated the only way out of Tides is through that device he mentioned and...she's really not certain how to feel about that. She'll be even less certain what to think of it when she truly sees the sub. At some point she'll have to venture there but for now she's content in this lovely place he's shown

"I've never been too fond my neighbors outside the Moors." Mostly because her only experiences with them have been their constant attempts to invade. If they simply left them alone or had chosen to offer respect to the people of the Moors it might have been quite different though. For a time there had been a glimpse of hope there and truth be told she had enjoyed those moments. Having the Moors open, the denizens free, safe, happy, all of that had been lovely. Yet it was not meant to be. "What is this neighborhood of yours like?" The combination of the word comes out as though it were a bit foreign to her.

"Mm, I can understand a disdain for being altered against one's will." Once upon a time she had been after all. "One could hardly blame others for taking an affront to being stripped of their autonomy. Strange to think that none find issue with the traits or magic itself. In my land humans either fear the magic we old or resent us for what they lack." Or combinations of both. Her shoulders relax ever so slightly as she mulls over what he'd said. "A...refreshing though to think those here may not share in that and may instead see the beauty of it."

There's something in her eyes that sparkles, something that stirs deep inside. It's what she's always wanted to see: a world of peace where magic flourishes and is embraced. A land of beauty and freedom. One without war, greed, and the pain that comes from the combination of those two terrible emotions.

She tilts her head curiously at his statement and then laughs in a terribly showy way. "A kindred spirit? Oh, that would be quite the thing to say in my own world. There they call me the Mistress of Evil. Would you consider that such a kindred spirit?"

[whowillmourn]

A small sympathetic wince at the mention of leaving Tides. The submarine ride is never an easy matter for Mayerling, as he feels the weight of that water all around him, narrowly held at bay; one moment of misfortune and he will be helpless in a situation dire enough for all. It could end so poorly, yet he comes anyway, same as he flew in a rocket that could have exploded on its way to the City of the Night, the same rocket he'll have to return to Earth some day should he ever return whence he came.

"My neighborhood is tucked into the land," Mayerling says, happy to discuss Lapine, "Everyone has a burrow, so that only the door within perhaps one wall with a garden in front is visibly identifiable as a home. Look at them from any of the other sides, and you would have to know to know it means a home is there. The land is beautiful. It's near the Selkie River in Willow, but the city of Epiphany is near by, should you need anything from a city. It has so many places to get fresh food. It saddens me I cannot enjoy any of that food, but I am pleased to offer it to visitors who call on me."

It pleases Mayerling that Maleficent understands the issue some take with being altered against their will or forced into activities they otherwise might avoid. "Some feel guilt, shame, or doubt about what it means that they have been given a particular role. Does it demonstrate some failing of theirs? Such quandaries are bound to arise no matter what happens here," Mayerling says, "I find Folkmore a far less fearful and defensive place than communities and people in my world. My world is a much harder, harsher place. I appreciate that Folkmore is not."

He picks a single flower and tucks it behind his ear before returning his attention to his companion. "I have been called a Baron of Evil and the devil incarnate. Why should I shy away then from a kindred spirit known as the Mistress of Evil? I understand such titles often don't reflect upon one's actions and that your 'evil deeds' such as they may be may have strong reasoning behind them others know not or willfully ignore. I judge you by my own account, and even knowing such, I remain glad to call you a kindred spirit."

[faenix]

For a brief moment her eyes lit up and reflected something akin to excitement; one might even see joy in them. What he described of this Lapine sounded lovely. Certainly infinitely more pleasant than this place, not to mention how much it brought to mind the image of the Moors. "What a drastically different sounding place than this." She tilted her head ever so slightly as she returned to looking around. How strange it was to think that this Folkmore could vary so drastically. Even here in Tides there had been variation, but what he described was truly something else.

"I would like this place you describe, it sounds much like the Moors I call home. I must admit, it is rare that I leave my home for the surrounding cities. I'm not particularly wanted you see." Not that she had a huge desire to venture into them, but perhaps it would have left her a bit more prepared for this place. "One would think this place with all it's wonder might have a way for you to taste, even if it be not a natural thing for you. I might be able to....assist." She was after all well-versed in transformational magic.

She chuckled as he further explained the quandaries some had with their transformations, a twisted little sound. "I am quite used to feelings such as those, particularly when tied to a forced transformation." When her wings had been taken all those and more had come to her, though she did not offer that detail. Instead, she listened to his own title with a curious head tilt. "Baron of Evil and the devil incarnate. It would indeed seem kindred spirit would be an apt description of us. Your understanding is more than most would give, more than most have given, and yet...it is appreciated." She reached a hand out, golden energy swirling around and a few of the flowers reached out to her, lifting themselves up proudly and she smiled a toothy grin down at them. They danced up her hand, wrapping around to create something akin to a bracelet made out of flowers for her. A nod of appreciation was offered as she admired it. Thoughts of her little Beasty, her goddaughter, back home danced through her mind, she would have loved all of this.

"Tell me, in this place do you feel you have overcome such a title?" Or did it haunt him still?

[whowillmourn]

That pure unbidden joy brings Mayerling great happiness. He wants everyone to enjoy Folkmore as much as he has and to find the good in it, no matter their circumstances. "Folkmore is a small realm compared to the planet I come from, yet it contains a wide variety of regions, each with their own character. Lapine is in Willow, perhaps the largest region of Folkmore, so you may find large swathes of forest mixed with farms as well as a whole region of lakes within its boundaries. As it borders Exile, with its own kind of forest, you may explore even broader without coming across snowscape or desert or ocean or city life."

He considers her offer, and the idea that he might taste food, real food not only blood, marvels him. His brief time spent as a human—through forced transformation in that none of them chose their alternate lives—gave him some memories of the matter yet only whetted his appetite for more. It's tempting, so tempting, yet he's used to resisting temptation rather than falling to it without further thought. "Given it may be tied to other aspects of my species, I would prefer to inform you of those so that you may consider the whole picture when determining whether you can help," Mayerling says politely, "I would rather take the time to avoid terrible consequences than to rush ahead. As an immortal being, I am used to having enough time to do so when not forced by circumstance to act swiftly." Such as when being hunted and attacked.

He smiles at her newfound bracelet of flowers, wondering how many people would consider him a worse kind of being than Maleficent when she can do such marvels. If he lets his abilities loose, he could kill all the plant life around them. It is only yet another sign of his foul nature to those who dislike vampires. "The dhampir, half-vampire half-human, who most adamantly and passionately opposed my being when we first met has become like a son to me," Mayerling shares with a smile, "Not everyone is fond of vampires, but I would say that I have shed the title and it trails me no longer. Harder than the title, however, is a fundamental part of my nature, a part of being a vampire."

His smile saddens, and Mayerling would understand if she leaves him or asks him to leave once she hears it. "No matter my personal thoughts or feelings, like all vampires where I come from, I suffer from a psychological need for human blood, a condition we call bloodlust. Should you be concerned for your personal safety, worry not. As you are not human, I feel no stirring in my chest for your blood. Yet it remains, independent of any emotion or feelings on my part toward humans generally or any human in particular, something I manage with synthetic blood—an invention of my family's—but something that always remains within me, something thousands upon thousands of years of vampire civilization at its height could not cure. That is the far greater difficulty, though it may be invisible to most."

[faenix]

"The Moors is not a large place and I have only left it once before. From what I understand our world is quite large but not for my kind." She had been told of the world beyond the Moors, of how the dark fey had lived in so many different climates around the world, but that time had come to an end. There was something about the idea that she might be able to see such a different world here that actually pleased her. "Can one fly freely over it all?" That was what she was truly fascinated by, the idea she could fly freely high above these places he was mentioning.

"As you wish." She was certain that there were others out there that would appreciate his caution. More often than not Maleficent simply did what came to her mind when it came to her magic, even when it involved others. She often transformed a companion back home into whatever animal she needed at the time without thought to consequences of it. Which, to her credit, had worked out quite well for them both.

She fingers the flowers gently as he speaks, paying attention even though she has never heard of such a creature. "I've heard neither of a vampire or a dhampir. We have all sorts of fairy kind, but nothing quite like that." She didn't flinch at his explanation, nor did she even blink at it, she simply listened. "One cannot hold one's nature against someone." From what he described it hardly seemed like he had chosen it. Then again part of her indifference may have been because he said his food source came from the blood of humans and she wasn't particularly fond of humans. (To say the least). "Even had you found yourself desiring my blood, I would hardly have been concerned for my safety." A slow grin formed on her face showing off her fangs. "I assure you, I can take care of myself." She waved a hand rather dismissively of any idea that he could be a threat to her.

"Despite what you have said, you've seemed no different to me than any other. Kinder than any human I've met, of that much I can be certain."