Entry tags:

*tdm

December 2023 & January 2024 Test Drive Meme

December 2023 - January 2024 TDM

Introduction

Overflow TDM post found here

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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.

[ Prompt One ★ Prompt Two]

Thirteen Knows What You Did Last Summer . ★

Content Warnings: School Detention, Time Not Passing, Forced Reflection/Confession, Potential Violence

Welcome to detention. Star Children, whether they're new arrivals to Folkmore or old hands, find themselves sitting at two person desks in a library. Perhaps there's only two Star Children, perhaps up to four or five. Regardless, each Star Child has a slip of paper in their hands which spells out why they are in detention, a secret detention slip no one else can read. Which, whew, because the reason any Star Child is in detention is for something they've never been punished for, something they might reasonably have thought they got away with, something they know was wrong.

The door to the library opens, and Kuma Lisa enters. She explains that Star Children will be in detention for four hours, and by the end of detention, they will need to reflect on what they did and express contrition. The headmistress gives no further guidance before leaving and closing the doors behind her.

Four hours is a notable chunk of time, but it's not so long, is it? Surely it's possible to wait it out without making good on the assignment… Or perhaps it's enough to write about it in one of the notebooks on the table in front of each student, without explaining it to another soul. Star Children are welcome to try whatever they want. However, they may notice an oddity with the clock. Namely, no matter how many times the second hand ticks around a circle to mark a whole minute, the minute and hour hands don't progress. It's the same minute over and over and over—

Detention is four hours, but how long four hours takes is entirely up to the Star Children in detention. Read every book in the library. Throw a dance party. Get high. Pull weapons out of the books. All matter of non-magical weapons. Nothing immediately happens upon pulling those weapons—no monsters to make detention less boring. Unless people make progress reflecting on their transgression, communicating about it with another Star Child, and showing penitence for it, time won't pass. Reality warps to stay in the same minute, minute after minute, hour after hour.

What's it going to be? Never ending detention or personal accountability?

However long it takes, it only takes four hours in the realm of Folkmore.

A word of warning to those who grabbed weapons, they will be attacked on their way home after detention. They will be attacked by creatures out of storybooks. Star Children will need to know the literary weaknesses of these creatures, good luck, or the help of someone else coming along who does know their weaknesses. At least there's some excitement in the day after four long long hours.

🦊 Star Children, new and old, in groups of 2-5 are in detention for something they did wrong & haven't been punished for.
🦊 Kuma Lisa explains detention lasts four hours, and people have to express regret for what they did by the end.
🦊 Time doesn't pass unless Star Children make progress toward that assignment.
🦊 It always takes four hours in Folkmore time.
🦊 Star Children who draw weapons from books during detention will be attacked on their way home.

To Prank or to be Pranked . ★

Content Warnings: Theft, Glitter Bombs, Minor Power Nerfing

There's a problem with the nonexistent mail delivery system in Folkmore. Gifts are being delivered to residents' addresses—their correct addresses, even if they live in the woods—but those recipients, written on a fat cream label, cannot pick them up, teleport them, or otherwise move them under their own power. These gifts sit in garish and contrasting colors that make certain to draw attention to themselves. Hello, here they are.

Anyone else can pick these packages up, from the person next door to a stranger walking by. There's so many gifts around it's easy to pick one up, remove the label, and go on one's way. Few people are home all the time, and even if they are, what are they going to do? Pick it up themselves? Ha! It's free ~~real estate~~. Star Children with abilities to see inside the packages can see something they want badly within as extra motivation to go for it.

When Star Children open their ill gotten gains, these packages explode in a glitter bomb that coats everyone within a ten foot radius. This glitter is impossible to wash out, magic away, or otherwise remove for twenty-four hours. Walk, swim, fly, or otherwise go about with glittery evidence of the crime committed.

Almost always. If it were guaranteed, where would the fun be in that?

The rare fortunate criminal or the original recipient, helped by another Star Child, will receive an item from home. This may even be a weapon or magical item. Those who receive an item will stop receiving gifts on their doorstep, whether they stole the gift or received it from a package addressed to them. They can keep stealing other people's gifts, but they will only receive a glitter bomb from then on.

Mischievous Star Children can even prank each other by changing the label and redelivering packages to someone else. Should that person get help to bring the gift inside, it still isn't their gift, not really, so it too will explode in glitter.

🦊 Gifts appear outside Star Children's residences, even those without residences.
🦊 Recipients cannot pick up the gift but any other Star Child can.
🦊 Almost all stolen gifts explode in a glitter bomb that leaves glitter for 24 hours.
🦊 Star Children can receive an item from home, even a weapon or magical item.
🦊 Star Children can prank each other by changing the labels/moving the packages.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not exactly like the other special grade sorcerers is he. If anything, Okkatsu reminds Nanami of Geto, which is both a good thing and a dangerous one. It is what it is. Honestly, Nanami hopes Okkatsu is everything Gojo said. Unfortunate as it is to rely on someone so young, as the last special grade sorcerer who has demonstrated any interest in protecting people, he is their best hope.

Right. Help. Here and now, not back where they're from. "Someone seems to be playing a prank on me," Nanami notes. He motions to the floor, where there is a box wrapped in beautiful gold and white wrapping paper. "Believe me when I say I cannot lift it."

An unusual matter for him.

“Maybe it’s meant for someone else? This place is … strange, sir,” Yuta added sheepishly, “though you’ve likely noticed. But by that I mean … things which we take for granted as just, laws of reality, don’t often apply here.”

Yuta went to crouch down by the package. “Let me try?”

Nanami decides not to point out immediately that his name is on the package delivered to the doorstep where he's been staying only a matter of days. He knows few people here so far, but it would be remarkably strange to deliver something to him with his name on it meant for someone else. Not impossible, admittedly, but strange. "Yes, I was in detention when I first arrived," Nanami says, "Time... worked differently there. It was a remarkable show of the fox's powers."

He motions for Okkatsu to go ahead. He is a special grade sorcerer, and Nanami doesn't expect anything Gojo is pranking him with to be a threat to Okkatsu accordingly. If it's the fox, who knows. "You may proceed," Nanami says. "With caution."

Yuta has met a pair of people with exactly the same name - and were kind of the same person, too. Time was weird here. But even without that kind of weirdness … maybe there were other ways to read Nanami’s name that matched someone else here? Either way. “Some of us are from the future, some from the past … it’s very odd here.”

Carefully, Yuta picked up the box - without any difficulty, either. He looked the package over with a cautious frown. “You know … maybe this is one of those things where this place forces us to help each other. It’s equally as likely as there being a younger or older version of you around somewhere.”

“That probably means there’s a gift for you in the box,” Yuta considered. “Yeah. Kind of what usually happens? And it doesn’t feel cursed …”

He moved to undo the wrapping.

Nanami nods. "I am from roughly the same time as Inumaki," he says, "He said you were from after the Shibuya incident." That's how he heard what happened to Yaga. It is a minor frustration, the lack of details around what happened that night. Nanami supposes it might not matter much, but it will still matter to those who survived.

He hopes the item, whatever it is, is for him because Nanami does not want to deal with a younger version of himself. He is enough for himself, and the teenagers enough after that. Though Nanami doesn't have a weapon, he still reinforces himself with cursed energy as Okkatsu opens the box he couldn't even lift.

Okkatsu unwraps the present one moment. The next everything goes golden. His cursed energy flares for an attack that doesn't come, not in the usual sense at least. The gold continues to fall, and Nanami is... completely covered with glitter. As is Okkatsu. "Gojo," he growls. Ineffective though it is, he starts wiping what he can off himself, though it only seems to transfer to his palms.

That … answers a question which had been in the back of his mind. And invited others. Did Nanami know he died? Was he taken as he was dying, or right before? Yuta felt a little glad he was rescued, in a way - though he would’ve preferred if Nanami didn’t have to die at all, obviously.

Considering all of that did distract him as he unwrapped the gift … reality rapidity asserted itself when his vision turned gold. Yuta got a full shotgun blast of the glitter.

Coughing, Yuta dropped the box and closed his eyes, shaking out his hair. “I don’t think …”

More coughing, “… this is Gojo-sensei’s …” cough cough “… doing?”

Nanami forgets about the glitter covering him as he hears Okkatsu coughing. "Are you all right? Did you swallow any of that?"

And if he did? Nanami knows one of the schools offers medical care, but it isn't exactly close. On the other hand, he hopes swallowing glitter won't be what takes out a special grade sorcerer. The kid has to be made of sterner stuff than that.

"No? It seems his sense of humor," Nanami points out. Admittedly, he didn't sense any cursed energy from the box, but the list of people who would wish to mess with him is awfully short.

“I’m okay,” Yuta said, which. Admittedly, he would’ve claimed regardless. But it’s just a little glitter. Worst case scenario, he could heal himself … but Toge would laugh himself silly if he heard he needed to use his reversed cursed technique because of glitter.

Fortunately, his coughing died down. Yuta tried to shake out his hair, gold flying everywhere. He sighed.

“It also seems like this place’s sense of humor,” Yuta told Nanami a little ruefully. “It likes to mess with you, sometimes. This is pretty harmless compared to other stuff.”

Once the kid stops coughing, Nanami believes him. Unfortunately glitter is one of those mundane matters that is near impossible to get rid of at the best of time. He resigns himself to being covered in gold for some time. Perhaps it's best not to go into his hotel room after all. They'll only bring the glitter everywhere there too.

"Would you care to go get coffee?" Nanami asks. "I shouldn't expect our host to have any better a sense of humor than Gojo." The comment about other stuff has him curious. It can wait a moment, however, since they aren't in immediate danger. Nanami's more concerned about Okkatsu than himself. The weight of the world has been placed on his shoulders.

“Uh, sure,” Yuta agreed to the coffee invite readily. It’s not as if he has anywhere else better to be. And, he’ll admit - he’s curious about the teacher Itadori spoke so highly of.

He tried shaking more glitter out of his hair and then sighed. Smiled sheepishly. “Hopefully the cafe doesn’t mind all the glitter.”

"Do you drink coffee?" Nanami asks to make conversation as he leads the way back out into Tides proper. He's getting to know many of the little eateries and coffee shops. They are artisanal here in a way he particularly enjoys. Everything from the coffee to the baked goods to the shop itself.

"If this incident is normal for this place, I would hope not." Nanami chooses a coffee shop with gold accents just in case. It will match the place.

“Sure? Toge likes it. I could do tea, too. Sometimes you have to just take caffeine however you can get it.” Yuta smiled at Nanami. “I’m sure you remember what it was like, sensei.”

Yuta then laughed softly. “Glitter’s new. But there’s always something new. There’s only some stuff that seems to repeat - so I’ve been told anyway.”

Nanami nods. "A benefit of being an adult is setting some of the terms for going on missions," he says. "I enjoy both, but I work on a schedule back home unless something particularly terrible happens. Overtime isn't a frequent occurrence for me." A good thing too. He doesn't have the tolerance for Gojo's schedule.

"I would appreciate to hear more about this place. I have been studying up on what I can, but the sources are limited," Nanami says, "and I'd like to hear about you and how you're doing. It has to be quite a change coming here."

Yuta nodded thoughtfully. He didn’t bring up the fact that, at least when he left Japan a year ago, it seemed like Nanami wasn’t much involved at all. “I’m a second year, sir, but if we manage to win … I hope I can still help against curses when I graduate, too. I’ll try to have a better schedule then.”

Nodding seriously, Yuta first said, “I can tell you whatever I know.”

But then he blushed a tiny bit. “About me?”

"You can strike a balance," Nanami says, if the world isn't actively falling to pieces. "Yuji Tsukumo doesn't do any missions at all, and Gojo always takes too many. You don't have to go to either extreme. It's better to be sustainable to last the long run than to burn yourself out."

It's the philosophy that allowed him to last as long as he did.

"Yes, about you," Nanami says, "I'd like to hear about you in your own words. I know we haven't met before, but I consider it my purpose to be here for all of you." It's why he came back from the dead. "That includes getting to know you."

Nanami’s advice was all being taken very seriously. Yuta could be stubborn - even anti-authoritarian - about many things. But if instruction came from someone he respected? Yuta readily ate it up.

Yuta looked away, feeling a little embarrassed. “Well, um. I was just a normal guy once? I’m not from a clan like the others. You probably already know all about my, er, abilities?”

"I'm not from a clan either," Nanami says, "I remember what that was like, at least in my case. We share some things in common but not all. Same as those from clans."

He looks over at Okkatsu. "I'd like to hear about them from you. Who else understands your abilities as well as you do?"

“Okay, well.” It’s weird. Most sorcerers from their already thought they knew evening about what he could do. And most of them - with a few exceptions, like Gojo - didn’t truly know.

So Yuta found this a little novel, frankly. “Aside from the standard things … I can channel my cursed energy into weapons and my body when I fight, the standard stuff … I can also copy other people’s abilities.”

And this was the true sign he trusted Nanami. “Honestly, not a lot of people at home realize that, sir. They simply think I’m cursed and I use that.”

Nanami's eyebrows raise. Copying other people's abilities? It's the jujutsu sorcerer equivalent of curse manipulation. Powerful shit indeed. The flexibility that allows, with that vast pool of cursed energy Okkatsu has, is... unfathomable.

"Can you copy Gojo's abilities?" Nanami asks. Gojo may have lost to Sukuna, but he's still the strongest sorcerer of their age... at least until Okkatsu fully develops. If he can utilize Gojo's strengths, then they may stand a real chance of winning.

"Thank you for telling me." That's a huge revelation. It's not a binding vow, the way Nanami revealing his technique is. Okkatsu doesn't need one of those.

Yuta didn’t know that yet - Thirteen had taken him at the beginning of that fight. So the suggestion had him raise his eyebrows at him. Why would Nanami ask that?

Still. “Probably? I’d need a bit of his blood - that’s also something people don’t really know. Gojo-sensei does, though, and he’s never offered.”

Plenty of sorcerers and curses detailed everything about their abilities in a fight to increase its strength. Yuta didn’t need to do that, thankfully. It gave him a huge advantage, and it’s not one he wanted to give up just for a bump in power he didn’t need.

Yuta didn’t see himself fighting Nanami, though.

There are only so many special grade sorcerers in the world. Nanami doesn't know what the fake Geto can do, but he hardly expects Yuki to make herself useful. The more Okkatsu can fight with, the better. Especially, considering...

"Ah, that sort of condition makes sense," Nanami says. Every ability has conditions, even the ability to copy abilities. He's not sure if Okkatsu's use is as strong as the original. That's another highly personal question, more personal than the one about Gojo. "That is highly personal."

He ponders as he walks along. There is the unfortunately dark thought of whether Okkatsu himself could ever become the threat the rest have to face. A possibility. However, with the fake Geto, Sukuna, and whatever other special grades remain being problems, Nanami supposes the day those are forgotten about and Okkatsu is the problem is in itself a positive outcome. Sukuna, no one even knows how to get rid of him.

"Thank you for trusting me," Nanami says. "Many people keep their abilities secret unless they need to reveal them." Okkatsu is being a special grade, certainly. So strong it doesn't matter that he reveals it. However, he keeps it secret back home. "With how prepared they were for Gojo at Shibuya, it's good much about you is secret."

"Yeah, of course. Gojo-sensei trusts you - and so does Itadori. He told us how much you did for him," Yuta freely shared. "He truly looked up to you, quite a lot."

Yuta shrugged his shoulders, hands deep in his pockets. "Yeah. I'm counting on the fact they just think Rika's cursed me - maybe they even think she'll just do all the fighting for me, too. With any luck, I can take a few of them out using a bit of surprise ... that should help Gojo-sensei out a great deal."

If nothing else, Yuta didn't want Gojo to have to kill Geto again, even if it wasn't really Geto anymore.

Did for him. Looked up. Past tense. Of course Okkatsu knows Nanami died. He's from the future, but he lets it slip with such casual language, language that might have tripped him up if he hadn't known. He knows, though, but doesn't comment on it. They have enough to talk about today. It isn't about him.

"It's good if they underestimate you," Nanami agrees. "However, that won't last. If you don't take them out with a single hit, they'll learn." He doesn't want Okkatsu to lose because he makes the kind of mistake they want their enemy to make.

"Gojo gets creative, but people generally know what he can do. It's fairly public. Your abilities will become wider known, but you have the advantage of gaining more abilities and people not knowing which ones you have."

A pause. "I don't know whether letting you copy mine here would provide it to you when you go back."

"I know." Yuta nodded resolutely. "It'll need a single strike, one he can't anticipate. I've got some ideas."

Other people being so open about how their abilities worked was also an advantage for him. Not merely if they were enemies - knowing what his allies could do might allow him to find a way to exploit them against their mutual opponents.

He'd seen some of Gojo's creativity first-hand, obviously, though he was drawn away in the middle of that fight. Nanami's suggestion, though, had him raising his eyebrows. "I don't know either. It might not hurt to try, however. What is it that you can do, sir?"

Nanami nods. Hopefully that will be enough, a single strike he cannot recover from. Though who knows what the fake Geto is capable of. Nanami doesn't.

"I create weak points in my opponents," Nanami says, "Any point at the ratio of seven to three creates a critical hit and allows me to deal significant damage, even to a stronger opponent. This ratio isn't limited to their whole body but can be a part of it, a limb, their torso, their head. Revealing how the ability works to opponents makes it stronger, but it also creates openings as they consider how to deal with those possibilities."

He pauses. "It doesn't do damage to their souls, however. It's why I am a poor match against the patchwork special grade."

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