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Entry tags:
May 2022 Test Drive Meme
MAY 2022 TDM
INTRODUCTION
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.
Content Warnings: Possible insanity via cuts by thorns. Temporary nullification of abilities.
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS
OUT OF THE WOODS
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS
The world comes into focus in one sharp, overwhelming rush. You are laying on the ground surrounded by staggering walls of flowers of all types and colors. Their sweet scent fills the air and the sky above is clear, blue, beautiful, and endless. It would be easy to be lulled into a quiet nap in such a peaceful place. You can even hear a soft, disembodied voice singing songs from some unknown place all around you. After some time, this siren song creates an intense yearning that will eventually bring you to your feet and pull you forward. You are filled with the urge to find someone important. You may know who or you might just have some aimless, faceless person at the forefront of your mind.
All you know is that when you finally find them, you'll know. Is it love? Is it a friend you have always needed? The perfect enemy? Only time will tell, but for now, you must find them. The flower maze is dense and for now, it doesn't seem like flying out and above them is an option. If you try, you just wind up vaulted back into the maze. Nope! This trial is about using other means of exploration. Maybe you can destroy the flowers, but you will find that this flower field is apparently endless. If you get cut by thorns along the way, you will become increasingly hectic about finding this mystery person. Some have been thrown into insane desperation just looking for their People among the flowers.
But once you finally find them, you're both filled with relief and the flowers around you blossom wider. You can then treat the flower maze like a solvable puzzle and get your way out of it. However, some people spend a bit more time in the maze since once you do find your person or people, you will be stricken with the urge to talk to them, to "open up" about your yearning to find them...even if you've never met them before!
OUT OF THE WOODS
Just outside of the flower maze is a little festival set up just on the edge of Willow and partway into Epiphany! Little stalls of food and drinks have been set up - and we mean little! The good folk who set up these stalls are magical cats standing upright and wearing clothes like little people! All the stalls are cat-sized and so are the dishes and food - which means most of the people walking through will likely be quite a bit bigger! That's okay, the cat folk seem happy to serve you bigger or multiple helpings of their yummy soups and bread. None of them seem able to really communicate with the new arrivals, but that's okay, their cute meows are fun to listen to anyway.
The music is a bit more pronounced here and a handful of cat couples are dancing around. Don't be surprised if they encourage you to join in the dancing! Maybe you didn't actually find someone in the flower maze - if not, the cat folk will encourage you to dance with another new arrival to get to know them! Because apparently dancing with someone you don't know is a good formal introduction? Ah well. Sometimes it's just the idea that counts.
There will also be some supplies to help patch people up who have gotten a lot of cuts from the flower maze. Some of the bouts of insanity are probably still going a bit hectic, so you might want to lay down in the recovery area until you feel a bit more stable. Talking to people apparently helps with the stability, so maybe strike up a conversation with a fellow newbie?
Content Warnings: Optional selective amensia and/or altered sense of self, possible monster/creature violence, temporary enchantments, forced relocations.
LONG STORY SHORT
DAYLIGHT
LONG STORY SHORT
You're in a very unusual, specific outfit and in a place you might have seen once or twice in a storybook or in the imagination of your childhood. For some, you might pick up on what's happening immediately. For others, you might be so immersed in the role that you don't realize it - but you're featuring in a classic fairy tale. Maybe it's Sleeping Beauty or Little Red Riding Hood or Tale of the White Snake or The Mirror of Matsuyama. Either way, you're the main character or the main antagonist and it looks like you're going to have to play out the story with whoever you're stuck with!
The other person in the trial can either match up to the other side of the story or just arrive as themselves and have to play along. Trying to just abandon the trial is quite literally impossible! You're stuck in the weird woods or high tower and trying to "leave" just results in you going in repeated cycles until you wind up where you started. You have a role to fill and you might as well get used to playing roles in Folkmore! It's time to understand how these trials work. What lesson are you supposed to take away?
If you're grumbling about it or are left confused, don't worry! Thirteen will appear to those struggling and explain the situation: "You need to play out the story! C'mon. Everyone knows this story...Right? Well, whatever, it's obvious! If you play your part, I promise I'll give you something you want." Can you really trust a fox though? Especially the fox who brought you here? She laughs before you can really pester her for more information and vanishes in a burst of red dust. Foxes really are mischievous, aren't they...At least most fairy tales are incredibly short, basic, and straightforward so most people should be able to figure it out!
In theory.
DAYLIGHT
At least the Fox wasn't lying. When you complete the task of the story, the fairy tale world will melt into one of the settings in Folkmore and you will be brought back into the current reality. You will be left in the weird clothes, but fear not! A mystery trunk has appeared in front of you and whoever you completed the trial with. Inside the trunk, you will find some of your canon clothes and a few canon items. Nearby, there will be some weapons sticking out of the ground: basic swords, guns, shields, etc. These items might not be enchanted, but at least you have something to work with!
Better yet, you don't necessarily have to complete the Long Story Short prompt to find these trunks either! They seem to be dotted around Folkmore and you might find them just by virtue of exploration! The trunks seem to mysteriously know who is opening them so you won't find someone else's stuff by accident, but you might have to fight over who gets the sword in the stone...
A word of caution to those who grab the weapons...You will immediately be tested on how good you are with them. As soon as you have pulled them out of the ground, the ground will begin trembling and a serpent-like creature will form out of the ground. If you're in Wintermute, you have a sizeable icy creature to deal with. If you're in Cruel Summer, meet the fire-breathing snakey nightmare that's going to try and roast you alive. Don't think Epiphany or Willow will have gentler creatures! They might be covered in moss or flowers but they will hit just as hard. You have to defeat the angry creature - or try running for your life. They are relatively easy to beat and people without powers can manage if they are highly skilled or...really lucky...Or if someone far more capable finds them! Good luck. As a pro-tip, maybe don't pull weird swords out of the ground in the future.
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Yup. (He drags out the 'yup' in his Texan drawl. He tips his head at the guy. Kaneki. He leans forward into Kaneki's personal space and holds the glass shoe up between them.)
If I recall the story, this must be yours.
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... Ah. I suppose. [ he is actually more relaxed now, knowing there is someone else doing this silly roleplay with him. In a way, it's better than doing this alone (is it, though? Is it?
kaneki looks back at Dirk and smiles, despite the red cheeks, while he takes the shoe with his hands, careful not to break it ] Thank you.
I will try it on, and I think the story ends. [ not really, Kaneki. There is a marriage you are forgetting about ]
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Sure thing, sweetheart. (Shut UP this dude is unreal.)
Not so sure about that part. (Yeah, sorry buddy. He winds up leaning fully against the threshold, crossing his arms over his chest.)
Pretty sure I gotta marry you and then deflower you. (That part is definitely not in any of the renditions of Cinderella. Probably. Dirk's just gross. He's also pretty sure he's dead maybe? Or...something...He at least knows the marriage part is legit.)
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WHA--!! [ kaneki looks at the broken shoe and then back at Dirk, face completely red yet again. He is being teased, he knows that ] That's not part of the story! [ kaneki knows the story! And even though he was worried about the glass shoe, another one suddenly appears in his hand.
Thank God. ] W-we can do the marriage part. [ there! A compromise. Kaneki sits down on the ground, pulling up the dress a little so he can put try the show ]
What's your name? I guess I should know the name of the person I'm marrying, right?
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Damn, you got me. (He shrugs smoothly. Can you blame a guy for trying, Kaneki? It's dry and barren out in the world of prudent fairy tales! He never imagined he'd get paired up with a dude for this. It was awesome. An absolute shoe-in.)
Yeah, but like, are we gonna be the kinda married couple that resentfully sleeps on opposite sides of the bed? 'Cause I can't do another no-homo relationship, man. I ain't got the stamina for that shit again. (Listen...................It's a recent hurt!)
Marriage is a commitment. (Dirk, oh my God, just play the stupid role play!
He invites himself inside and watches Kaneki pull up the dress.
Mmm. This is hitting at least three kinks in one moment. Amazing. Stunning. He squats down in front of Kaneki.)
Here. Let me. (He does at least offer his palm out instead of just yoinking the shoe away. Kaneki can refuse!)
Dirk Strider. Probably a good idea, yeah. Though I reckon we're stuck in one of those time periods where people ain't that cozy with their spouses.
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I'm more mature than that, I'd request separate beds. [ see? he can be cheeky, too. Kaneki shakes his head, somehow a bit amused even if slightly embarrassed. Despite being teased, Dirk doesn't sound mean spirited about it, so Kaneki feels like he can relax a little bit ] Although you are the Prince and future king, so you make the rules.
[ When Dirk squats in front of Kaneki, the half-ghoul takes a second before he offers the show back to the Prince. This is... really embarrassing, but they are playing out the scene, right? The Prince helps Cinderella put the shoe on. That is totally a scene that happens. ]
Nice to meet you, Dirk. [ Kaneki is glad his roleplay partner is nice ]
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Don't tell me that. I'll get a fuckin' ego trip.
(It's for everyone's sanity that he remained a Prince and not a King even in a fantasy setting. Maybe even especially in a fantasy setting.)
Good to meet you too, Cinderella. (He slips off Kaneki's one shoe and just kinda..holds...his foot for a second. Listen, for once he's not being completely weird. He's viciously touch starved and there's something simple and nice about holding a cute guy's...foot...? Is this weird? Okay, yeah, maybe a little.)
What if I had a foot fetish? (Let's just joke about it to get over the emotional stuff! Yeah! He slips the glass shoe on and surprising absolutely no one, it fits perfectly.)
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Until Dirk says that and kaneki's face turns bright red yet again. GOSH!!! ] You wouldn't have said that if you did. [ hopefully??
Kaneki feels the shoe perfectly fit on him and after moves it for a second. He has no idea how women wear heels, but he supposes he will have to go along with all of this for now. Thus, kaneki tries to stand up ] So, now that I have the shoe what sh---
[ and suddenly Kaneki's maid outfit transforms into a beautiful wedding gown, white and bright, with diamonds and across the chest area and a long white veil to match. And of course, the glass shoes are there too, which will be making kaneki's life really hard because he doesn't know how to walk on those.
The scenario changes too, and the Cinderella mansion transforms into the Prince Charming's castle, specifically the ballroom. Yep, this is a wedding alright.
And Kaneki wants to die from embarrassment. ]
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Then they are put through a Disney filter. Dirk's own outfit becomes a bit more elaborate, fitting that of a prince. Though it doesn't quite live up to Kaneki's transformation. Kaneki looks admittedly beautiful with the scattering of diamonds over his chest.
There is an aisle carpeted in flowers and a priest at the end that's actually just a giant mouse in a priest's uniform. This was so stupid. Still, they are in it together and Kaneki's a babe so Dirk schools his face and offers Kaneki his arm. So, you know, he didn't eat shit on the way to the altar.)
Pretty sure we're gonna have to kiss. You think you can handle that?
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kaneki looks around and at least all the people around them are animal shaped and now there is even a priest. How. Why. He would like to have a word with a certain Fox, but she is nowhere to be found, of course.
Perhaps animals are less embarrassing than people, though.
And kaneki does hold onto Dirk's arm because the first step he tries to give, he nearly falls. This is all so bad and he is so embarrassed and Kaneki doesn't even know how to approach the priest mouse without feeling like he will break his ankle. ]
W-what? [ WHAT. KISS? ] N-no, that's not-- [ it's true, the Prince and Cinderella kiss at the end, don't they? Oh god, Kaneki feels like he will die ] I never... [ kaneki decides to whisper that last part, just in case the mice and the other animals are in fact actual people ] I never kissed in my whole life, I can't--
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That's a shame. (Kaneki is cute enough that someone should have kissed him by now. Ah well. Dirk gives him a casual shrug.) Ain't gotta be some sentimental thing. My first kiss was with a corpse.
(Dirk...That's...Absolutely not something you should just be saying like that?)
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[ a corpse? Oh no, is this some creepy person who kills people? Or goes around kissing dead people? Or maybe Dirk is just making fun of Kaneki again?
A mystery ]
I'd just rather not go around kissing... corpses? [ and people. Kaneki is incredibly sentimental - a romantic! - and would rather make a kiss count. Although it is true, it doesn't have to be something incredibly sentimental and probably just a tiny peck on the lips would work for a story like this, right? ]
What do you mean, a corpse? [ this is important, before they kiss. Even though they are walking down the isle and Father Mouse is already staring at them and does expect them to go through with this royal wedding ]
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I feel like the average person would prefer their make-out buddy alive and reactive, yeah. (That's not the point, Dirk. It's the part where this is apparently normal for you.
Probably would work, but the closer they get to the altar, the more Dirk plans to do anything but simple.)
It's a long story. I'm talkin' like, longer than War and Peace kinda long. But just imagine a video game where you had to kiss your dead friends to wake them up in their extra lives. It sounds fake and stupid. (He glances down at Kaneki.) I'll tell you about it later if you really want. For now, I think we oughtta focus on making out.
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Honestly, a lot scares kaneki due to having a very normal human life (not true) until he became a ghoul and everything turned upside-down. he is willing to listen to Dirk's story and believe him, but Dirk is right. They have a story on their own, right now, to finish.
kaneki looks back at the Priest, then back at Dirk, thinking on how to get this over with without... well, the smooching part. But then they are in front of the mouse and kaneki can only turn to the other boy with a quick gasp ]
Right. Uhm-- so, we kiss? [ DO THEY??? WHY?? Kaneki is so confused at everything and he hates this place why must he kiss random boys while dressed like a princess bride? (no matter how handsome Dirk is, it's still weird to kiss someone you've just met, right?) ]
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Although God help Kaneki's soul because if Kaneki so much as gasps or moves his mouth at this time? Dirk's going to use it as an excuse to slip his tongue right on into his mouth. Your husband adores you already, Kaneki!)
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That's all kaneki wanted to say until he is dipped and loses all his ability to say anything, and it only gets worse when Dirk's lips are on his on a not-quick-kiss. His eyes go wide, face flushes with embarrassment, and hands quickly move to hold onto Dirk's arms because what else is he meant to do?
it's a kiss like in the books, he tells himself, a normal kiss and that's how romantic fairy tale kisses are,. But Kaneki's heart is beating loud, so loud he is sure even Dirk can hear it, and then he realizes it's hard to breathe because Ken isn't breathing at all.
So he gasps.
And the tongue goes in and Kaneki freezes in place right there and then because he has no idea what to do here. No matter how many books he has read, how many times he imagined how it'd be like to kiss a cute person, nothing prepared him for this moment when he is finally being kissed for real. ]
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Maybe it's both.
He curls his tongue around Kaneki's and, well, this is exactly why Jake got overwhelmed by Dirk. He had absolutely no brakes. It was 0 to 100 in three seconds flat. He wanted to dominate everything he did including stealing the first kiss of some poor guy he just met in a dress.
In his defense, Kaneki is outrageously cute. He gives Kaneki's tongue this nice, tiny little suck and then he breaks the kiss. He considers it a gesture of mercy, but the smirk that it leaves on his face probably isn't much better.)
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His mouth is full of tongue and suddenly kaneki recognizes the taste of human and it's amazing and he is trying so hard not to focus on that. And yet he moans a little because of course he does (his ghoul instincts would never let him off without a moan), specially with that little suck and then the kiss breaks.
kaneki looks completely disheveled, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights, his hands still gripping onto Dirk's shoulders and there is even some saliva dripping from his mouth because Kaneki has no clue how to process any of this at all.
And Dirk is smirking. ]
WHAT WAS-- [ no time to scream because the story ends and everything around them vanishes, except Kaneki's lovely dress that is still on him for some reason. The half-ghoul looks around and forgets he was about to scold Dirk, and somehow he is just... so tired of this place.
Instead he slips away from Dirk's embrace, face completely red, and wishing he could just run away. What the heck was that? He should be mad, furious! But here is the thing about Kaneki: he is a bit of a doormat. And Dirk did say not to put any thought into it and that he kissed his (dead) friends so... yeah, kaneki sees this as being made fun of. ]
T-that was a bit too far, you know? [ not a bit. A lot ]
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Instead, all he can do is focus on Kaneki, the look on his face, the fact that there's a bit of saliva shimmering from his mouth. The fact that he had absolutely moaned into that kiss. All of that had gone straight to Dirk's dick and obliterated any other thought in existence.
He's never had a guy looking at him like this before and he actually has no fucking clue what to do about it. Oh shit, he's being yelled at. He was in trouble, wasn't he? There's the slightest color rising into his own face, though thankfully most of it was hidden behind shades - but still...A little telltale amount manages to spread out into his ears.
He otherwise remains stony-faced and stoic. He mastered that poker face forever ago, cute boys be damned. At least he wasn't smirking anymore.)
You seemed to like it. (The moan. He was gonna remember that moan for the rest of his life, he's pretty sure. He reaches out and swipes his thumb across Kaneki's lower lip to clean that saliva off. Then proceeds to just...Pop that thumb into his own mouth and lick it off.
Dirk stop.)
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kaneki's face remains bright red, and because he is so pale, it's a dead give away that he is only getting even more embarrassed at the whole thing. Unlike Dirk, he has not mastered anything, but specially not the art of argument.
Hands quickly reach for Dirk's hand, however, a weak attempt at stopping him from bringing his thumb to his mouth ] Oh my go-- stop it!
[ he huffs a little ] You shouldn't tease people like this...! Specially not a stranger. [ kaneki could be a crazed hungry ghoul for all Dirk knows. But also he'd rather not be teased into oblivion ]
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But I already tasted you. (Did it matter if he wanted to enjoy a second helping via some casual spit sampling? He thought not.
It's such a good thing Dirk is an immortal who could withstand being eaten alive by Kaneki! Or at the very least come back from it. Probably. It seemed like that would be a just death, letting a cannibalistic creature feed off him, but somewhere in Dirk's fucked up mind, he would just get off to it.)
You're not a stranger. You're my husband, Kaneki. We just got married like two seconds ago. I'm a changed man. Totally committed here. I'll let you step on me right now. Seriously. Do you want to pull my hair? (Then he proceeds to make a show out of bending over. Kaneki is way shorter than him so Dirk puts his head right about at his level.)
Go ahead. Do whatever. Maybe slap me a bit? (Is he still teasing him? Who knows.)
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(although, isn't that what kaneki did as well? That's why he moaned, after all, because he tasted Dirk. But he didn't do it on purpose!)
And he is close again. kaneki doesn't know how to deal with this, even Hide who always teases him, does not do this; this sort of personality is one kaneki has no idea how to deal with or expect, and feels like everything he says will be taken as a joke.
he still doesn't think Dirk is being malicious about it, but it's very difficult to keep up with all of it! ]
I'm not slapping you, stop that. [ and instead he places his hand against Dirk's cheek and pushes him a little, so they won't be so close to one another ]
And the story has ended. [ in case Dirk didn't notice the scenario change. Kaneki is also attempting to change the subject, too! ]
no why they vibing so well tho
Fine, all right. (Figures he would only ever get married in a lame fairy tale rip-off. Not even a good fairy tale. He's not sulking! He's just crossing his arms over his chest and staring intently into the distance.)
For the record, I did like kissing you. (There's some sincerity in his voice, even if it's a bit stilted. He didn't do emotional warmth too much. As soon as he says it, he's turning away from Kaneki, mostly because ew, sentimentality, and examining their immediate surroundings. Oh! Look at the treasure trunks! Sweet, is that his sword sticking out of a nearby rock?
Dope. He's gonna just...start walking towards it.)
because they are both disasters
He should be more tactful.
kaneki coughs a little and decides to grab his dress while he walks after Dirk ] I'm sorry, Dirk.
I get it. [ probably? Most likely not. ] I just don't really do that sort of thing. [ at all! he did tell Dirk he has never kissed before. ] Where I'm from friends don't kiss friends. And people who've just met don't kiss each other. [ well. Some do, but not Kaneki ]
A-anyway, thank you for playing out the fairy tale with me. You helped me alot. [ it was so embarrassing and dumb, but Kaneki is very thankful that is over ]
u got a point
He jerks his head around to look at him. Okay, so. That's new. He stops moving towards the sword and stares down at Kaneki, silent, not bothering to interrupt him. He stays quiet for some time after Kaneki, but there's an unusual quality to the silence.
It's a heavy silence, heavy with his thoughts as he puts them together in order before speaking up. He's used to having the time behind screens, and he's also the kind of guy that sometime just...
Casually dissociates while thinking, so. There's a moment where the silence is borderline awkward, and then he seems to come back to it.)
Yeah, I didn't really want to kiss my friends when I did. It was a life-or-death thing. Not exactly my idea of an ideal first-kiss-scenario either. (And he found that he didn't want to give Kaneki the wrong impression of him.)
I get it. (He did! He's not feeling rejected at all! He does force himself to relax a little. Dirk, you don't have to be the Prince of Heart so literally all the time.)
Yeah, no problem. That's what us Princes do. (...) You were kinda like my first kiss situation where it wasn't completely fuckin' weird. Although I guess there was still a 'do it or fuck off' quality to it.
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cw: monster death because??? dirk aint fuckn around via decapitation
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cw: suicidal ideation
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