May 2022 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

MAY 2022 TDM

INTRODUCTION

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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]

A PLACE IN THIS WORLD

Content Warnings: Possible insanity via cuts by thorns. Temporary nullification of abilities.

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?

ENCHANTED

Content Warnings: Optional selective amensia and/or altered sense of self, possible monster/creature violence, temporary enchantments, forced relocations.

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.

Comments

[defendure]

B-but to do that we'd have to - you know -

[ Izuku, a sixteen-year-old boy who cannot say the word "kiss". ]

1/??

[blondshell]

What.

(He's just staring.

Staring.

Staring.)

[blondshell]

(Wait.

Wait.)

[blondshell]

(WAIT.)

[blondshell]

HAAA?!

[blondshell]

AAAAHHH---!!

[blondshell]

(This is about the point where he would normally just...set off an explosion in Izuku's face or tear it the fuck up. But he can't access his quirk in this body.

So.







He just winds up biting Izuku's nose again, growling. Chewing. And then just. Stops. DEEP BREATH.)

done

[blondshell]

(Goddamn it.

Yeah, they are both stupid sixteen-year-olds who cannot say the word 'kiss' apparently.)

Fine.

[defendure]

[ Okay but he drops Katsuki as the bite happens again, yelping, why are you like this Kacchan? ]

[blondshell]

Hey-!

(And down he goes. He makes a squeaky yelp noise as he hits the ground. He twists around onto all fours and is grabbing another mouthful of Izuku's pantleg again, shaking his head and growling the entire time.

But this time, he does stop within seconds, tail bristling.)

Don't just drop me, you piece of shit nerd!

[defendure]

Then stop biting me?!

[ He already said so once, Katsuki! And now they're just bickering uselessly... ]

[blondshell]

I can't help it!

(....

Wait...

His nose scrunches and his tail bristles.)

I'm serious. (He is? Actually serious?)

I'm still me but it's like there's something - new. Like I have actual stupid fox brains in here too.

[defendure]

O-okay, but if I...k... [ .............. ] ...break the spell, are you, um, going to - ?

[ Is this a biting danger. Are you gonna bite his LIPS. ]

[blondshell]

Damn it. No.

(Probably. He's pretty sure.)

I just gotta hype myself up. Give me a damn second.

(Don't mind him doing some pacing around. At some point, he freezes up and darts about and then stops, and to his credit, he seems more relaxed by the time he walks back over to Izuku. He stares up at him expectantly.)

Okay. Kiss me, dumbass. Let's get this over with.

1/2

[defendure]

[ OH GOD KATSUKI SAID THE WORD FORGIVE IZUKU AS HE STANDS HERE HAVING A MINOR MELTDOWN OF NERVES ]

2/2

[defendure]

[ OKAY. Okay! He can do this! He'll just sort of....kneel on the ground and.

Stare...at Katsuki.....................

...

Maybe he needs a few more minutes to hype himself up as well. ]

1/2

[blondshell]

(............


..............


..............


Katsuki isn't any better. They both look like deer in headlights, okay, just gaping at each other.)

Re: 2/2

[blondshell]

(Okay. It's fine. It's fine. Nothing to lose here. He's just a fucking fox and they're in some stupid fairy tale and this is their lives now.

It's just fucking Deku.

Except, like. It would be easier if it were literally anyone else. It's because it's Izuku that he's just stalling.

But okay. He can do this. He's got this. He's not a fucking pushover. It's just a kiss. People kiss all the damn time. A quick peck and done. Whatever. Fucking big deal!





SO.

He steps his front paws up onto Izuku's lap and strains his neck up. His fox nose bumps against Izuku's and then he's just kinda...putting their mouths together. It's not bad kissing a fox snoot. Like, it's objectively adorable as hell. He just needs to be kissed back now.)

1/2

[defendure]

[ Izuku's already bright red by the time Katsuki's little front paws are on his lap. It's dumb? Because it's Katsuki but it's also just...a little fox. A tiny fox. He's kissed kitten heads before this should NOT be a big deal. He's fine! It's fine! It doesn't matter that it's Kacchan!

(Except it always matters, no matter what it is, when it's Kacchan.) ]

2/2

[defendure]

[ The stupid thing neither of them thought about was if this worked, though, it would stop being a fox. Stop being a fox snoot. Instead, after Izuku kisses back on purpose, he's kissing...

Something less cute. (Or more cute. Depends on your preferences.) ]

Re: 2/2

[blondshell]

(The flaw in their dumbass logic. What are thinking about the consequences of your actions??? Who needs that.

There's this really mythical, scattered glowing that emits from Katsuki's fox body for a few seconds, and then...

Suddenly it's Katsuki, in his human form, his mouth slotted against Izuku's. Definitely no longer a fox snoot in any way. He's in some princely outfit just the same as Izuku's. But the worst part is he doesn't pull away as fast as he should. Or like, at all, because he's in some post-transformation haze and some part of his brain has gone completely offline because he's picking up on the fact that nope, this is for real, he is actually kissing Izuku in real time. Their mouths are together. Like.

They are actually kissing.)

[defendure]

[ Well. Izuku is kind of...frozen in place? He's nervous, and his brain has kind of taken a vacation, and all he can focus on is their lips are touching and he's kissing someone and that someone is Kacchan.

It's the world's most chaste kiss and they're both frozen there, prolonging it.

Whoops. ]

[blondshell]

(Katsuki has literally never once imagined kissing someone. Boy or girl. It just never entered his mind. He didn't give a shit about that kind of thing and barely paid any attention to his friends who did give a shit about it. He had more important things on his mind. Like becoming a pro. Like catching up to Izuku. Like being the best at what he did.

That usually didn't include kissing.

But it's not that bad. It's kind of warm? At some point, he has opened his eyes, which he knows he's not supposed to do, but fuck it.

There's a growing warmth rising into his face and he finally breaks the kiss. Which results in an embarrassingly obvious noise of their mouths disconnecting. He doesn't pull all the way back. Instead, he thinks about the fact that his paws had become hands on Izuku's lap and that he's just kinda...

He pulls back, sitting back onto his own calves. He picks his hands up and looks at them.

It's not ...a perfect transformation back. Katsuki now has pale fox ears sticking up in his spiky hair, a fluffy tail behind him. More pronounced fangs, and his nails were more like claws.

More than that was the fact that his pupils were slitted, like a fox's, and there seemed to be some natural red and orange markings on his cheeks and around his eyes. He was bigger and somehow both more feral-looking and prettier. Go figure. He finally looks back at Izuku, scowling.)

Do I look stupid still?

[defendure]

[ Izuku's pictured kissing people in a sort of undefined, hazy way. Not really anyone specific (at most he pictures holding hands with specific people) but more...sort of, you know. Vague figures of "it would be nice to kiss someone someday at some point". Like Katsuki, he's laser focused on hero work though and hasn't had the time or inclination to really follow that thought any further than that. It would be nice, sure, but it doesn't really matter to him on the whole when he has other important things to do and he'd want to take it slow anyway. Baby steps. Holding hands, a confession, going on dates...

The shoujo manga step by step. He's that kind of guy.

When Katsuki pulls back, Izuku's eyes are still shut. He stays that way for a breath, then another, then his eyes open slowly and he's staring still, cheeks flushed. Registers Katsuki's large hands pulling off his thighs. ]

I - I never said you looked stupid to start with. But you're - you're not a full fox anymore.

[blondshell]

(Katsuki, on the other hand, doesn't have an ounce of romance in him. People had never bothered to confess to Katsuki before, even if they did like him because he was just too scary to bother approaching. And anyone with common sense would know he'd just tell them to fuck off and die.

Izuku looks...

Well.

Katsuki winds up staring a bit too intently at him, unfamiliar with what's going on in his head to the point where he doesn't bother to examine it too closely or define it. What's with that look on his face? One of Katsuki's new ears flickers.)

What do you mean not a full...

(No. Now that he's sitting there, he can feel it. The tail. He cranes his head over his shoulder and looks down at it. Gives it a wag just to see if he could. When it moves, he immediately looks back at Izuku, his eyes widening.)

Kiss me again. (That'll get rid of the other features, right? Like. Maybe it's one of those progress bar things!) I'm not walkin' around with this fucking thing hanging off me.