August 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

AUGUST 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

[ TDM Questions ★ Jump to Comments ★ Full Navigation ]
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. You can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Each TDM will provide a scenario for how characters arrive in-game that particular month.

Playing 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 allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a log with the prompts. Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Summer Is Over

Content Warnings: snakes, cultists, optional violence.

FALLING DOWN LIKE PIECES INTO PLACE

A breeze with the crisp smell of dying leaves caresses you awake. You sit up to find yourself in the middle of an apple orchard, rows spreading out in all directions. Mouth watering apples hang from the branches, and nobody will stop you from taking one. You can wander the orchard as long as you like, but eventually you will find yourself emerging into the front yard of a little farm. There’s a red barn with perfect white trim set far back, and to one side of the yard is a kiosk modeled to match the barn. This is staffed by a woman who sure looks a lot like the fox that brought you here.

On the side of the kiosk are advertised a few different items: pumpkin spice lattes, hot apple cider, cold alcoholic apple cider, and hot chocolate. The cider, you will be informed, is made on site. (But you have to be of legal age to be given that hard cider!)

There are two other things advertised: APPLE PICKING and a SCAVENGER HUNT.

“You need a buddy for those, though,” the woman running the kiosk will tell you. “Lucky for you there’s plenty of people you can pair up with.”

If you elect to try the scavenger hunt, you and your partner will be handed a piece of paper. On it reads the following:

TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FOLLOWING ON YOUR RELIC! :)

- YOU HOLDING HANDS WHILE YOU GO DOWN A PATH
- FEET WITH AUTUMN LEAVES
- SOMETHING YOU THINK IS TRULY BEAUTIFUL
- A GENUINE SMILE

“When you’re done, bring it back here and show me,” the woman instructs you. “You’ll get a prize if you do.”

It’s an easy enough list, right? Although you have to follow the instructions - you really DO have to find something you genuinely think is beautiful, and that smile can’t be forced! Those might require opening up to your partner a little bit!

If you succeed in the scavenger hunt, you will be gifted with an item from home.


Now, what if you decided to go apple picking?

You will be given a bucket. “Be careful to only pick apples from the trees in the rows,” the kiosk woman tells you with a secret smile. “You don’t want to bother the old trees off the path.”

Yeah. That sure sounds like a challenge, doesn’t it?

If you do stick to the orchard proper, you will be able to pick your fill of apples. All of them are crisp and sweet and delicious. But at some point you will see the other trees.

They’re both huge and old, standing on two sloping hills just past the orchard rows. One of them has apples red as blood, and the other apples gold as the sun. In the shade of these trees are weapons sticking half out of the earth, as if they were carelessly buried many years ago.

If you pick one of the red apples, you will find that you are suddenly besieged with huge snakes. They are as big as anacondas and an inky black that absorbs the light, with eyes the same red as the apples. They aren’t poisonous, but they bite and they crush, so you’ll have to fight them off at least long enough to run like hell!

If you pick the golden apples, a crowd of people will silently begin appearing from the orchard. They are all wearing animal masks… and they are all holding hand scythes. Uh oh. You’ll have to fight them off in order to escape! If you don’t manage that, well, in some places it’s traditional to have a big ol’ sacrificial bonfire…

All the weapons below the trees are non-enchanted items, but you may keep them.

Plaid Shirt Days and Nights

Content Warnings: Optional themes of identity and school trauma.

IMAKEOVER MAKEOVER

Thirteen believes passionately in education. There are, after all, five academies in Folkmore all catering to different types of learning. While these academies are open year round, it becomes apparent if you walk through any of the districts housing shops that back to school is definitely a thing.

A new school year represents a chance to learn more about the world, and about yourself.

Also? It’s a great time for a makeover!

Yes, step into any of the shops selling clothing and accessories anywhere in Folkmore and you will find yourself passionately invested in helping another person discover who it is they want to look like! Do they want to look cool and aloof? Warm and approachable? Are they an e-boy or a cottagcore witch? Punk or prep? You two can figure it out together!

As you shop together you will find it easier and easier to open up to one another, sharing who it is you want to be.

You’ll also be able to score a sweet outfit. Nice.

SAVED BY THE BELL

Wander into any school in Folkmore and you will find a handmade poster instructing all new students and faculty to report to the auditorium. Normal enough, one supposes… but the moment you enter the room you will find reality swims all around you and all of a sudden you’re stuck in a school nightmare!

You know the kind. You’re late for class, no matter how fast you run. You’re in gym class, trying to climb that goddamn rope. You’re getting your books dumped. You’re naked and giving a book report.

These could be memories, but it’s just as likely that they aren’t - you and another person are just trapped in this cliche together. Whichever one of you is in the audience role could maybe help the other one out? Get them some pants or something? Yeah.

Comments

[naotorious]

[ If Heine was a friend or even just an acquaintance, Naoto would laugh and point. But if his time here tells him anything, it's that clothing styles seem to vary as much as the people and he's mostly mindful of that. Still, the guy looks objectively goofy and he may come across someone who may not be as courteous...

Naturally, Naoto just needs to befriend him so he can let out all of the ha-ha's. Good thing he's never shy about that! He's hardly bothered by the gaze but he is mindful of it. ]

Mmm...I mean, it looks like you want attention given the...um, loudness of your clothes, you know? Is this giving me some "evening night in the streets of Harajuku" vibes, if you ask me! Which isn't a bad thing, by the way...

[halsband]

[He's thisclose to choking on a scoff at that comment. He does not want attention... does he? Even in his own world, his selections were certainly not going to blend in to the status quo. There's no reason for Heine to be reflecting on this at all, but he is and it's weird. He doesn't want people to acknowledge him for the most part, generally... but if that were true, why does he pick jackets with fur trim or snakeskin patterns, or extraneous zippers and fastenings and fucking crosses, or wear boots with spikes on them and gaudy rings? Its all impractical for the type of things he engaged in, and absolutely for show. He could count the number of 'normal' clothing items he owned on one hand, the others all flashy in some way or another, whether stylistically or colour accents. Fuck.]

... The fuck is Harajuku?

[He sounds confused, but it's not just because he's never heard of the place. He's still self-analyzing.]

[naotorious]

Don't worry about it! [ But he'll give a brief explanation anyway, all while eyeing the rest of the outfit and taking in what he can of the guy's features. ] It's a place where I'm from that has tons of trendy cafes and clothing stores like this one. [ Then he makes a gesture to pretend to take a pic, because even Naoto knows that going for a real one would land him in doo doo. ]

Haha, you'd really fit right in! You look kind of confused though. [ It's totally not because Naoto greeted him with the energy of a golden doodle. Duh. ] Are you having second thoughts?

[halsband]

Second thoughts about what?

[It comes out a bit grating and defensive, because he's getting a headache already.]

I didn't agree to anything.

[Whatever that might be. This is starting to feel like a vague lore-driven compulsion to discuss... feelings related to fashion, of all things, and he doesn't like it. But lore energy means currency, and can always use more ammunition. Fuck it.]

... I don't want attention... exactly...

[naotorious]

Your outfit, duh! [ Even if feelings = money is the way how things work around here, it won't change how Naoto would behave. Ain't it scary, that he's just like this in his world too? Now that the guy seems less guarded and opening up to him, Naoto lets out a light laugh and pats his back. ]

Obviously, nobody wants unwanted attention. [ College man just said nobody wants something unwanted. Life is too short to last long. THIS IS A GROWN ASS MAN TALKING. ] But you still want to pick a style that goes with you. I'm a firm believer in wearing the clothing and not letting the clothing wear you...you get me?

[halsband]

[Heine instinctively takes a step back to avoid further physical contact, practically leaning against the sunglasses display at this point, and all Nao gets for that 'friendly' patting mistake is a glare. He's not endearing himself here with that kind of invasion, but at least Heine isn't biting his nose off. He's thinking about it, though, even if no overt threats are made.]

Not really.

[What bullshit is "not letting the clothing wear you"?]

... Be more subtle?

[naotorious]

[ Something tells Naoto that this is going to require some visual examples... ]

Ah, if subtle is what you're going for...then yeah! Where I'm from, you're pretty much a walking statement piece. Things like the extra zippers, animal print, the bright colors... [ virtually everything he picked out of the racks tbh ] are considered "loud". It'd draw attention, is what I'm saying. If you want to tone it down, you can swap out some of these with some neutrals...

[ But before Naoto suddenly raids the basics section... ] What's your number one favorite thing you're wearing right now? We can totally build a look around it!

[halsband]

[Just when he thinks this guy is done rambling, he keeps talking... "build a look", fucking shit.]

You sure you don't work here...

[It's muttered while he looks away from Naoto and considers finding an exit; but he does actually need to buy clothes.]

I don't know. I wear these pants a lot.

[Build an outfit around purple leather pants with some of those extra zippers, Nao...]

[naotorious]

[ Naoto might as well get a job here. Customer service is his #1 skill, after all. He even holds a straight face when he's being told that the man likes the pants... ] You're going to stand out no matter what...but if you are, we might as well make you look and feel awesome!

[ He yoinks some basics, including a white collared button up and a long sleeve tee to start with. ] These pretty much can go with anything. The fabric for this isn't too thick, so if you're prone to getting hot, that shouldn't be an issue~ I have the opposite problem, haha!