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

Henry Oak | Dungeons & Daddies | Legend

[overnightoaks]

1. A THOUSAND CUTS
(cw stabbing/blood mention, spoilers for Dungeons & Daddies s1)

[ It isn't like the last time Henry crossed the boundaries between worlds. Or the time before that. Or the time before THAT. No, this time is different. He's in his kitchen, hugging his son, and then a sharp knife is being slipped between his ribs. Something begins pouring out from inside of him. He begins pouring out from inside of himself.

He watches as the chaos unfurls, as his friends rush into the room and then outside to stare up at the sky that is turning red. But he doesn't follow them. Instead, he follows this mysterious fox that's appeared, because that feels like the right thing to do.

And then he's falling.

He comes to surrounded by a forest of flowers, covered in cuts and bleeding— he's not sure what is from the thorns of the flowers he fell through, and what is from the stab wound. But as he comes to, he hears music that fills him with purpose. He's got to find them—! He's got to get back home, to his boys! To his family! ]

My beautiful boys, I'm coming!

[ He casts Wild Shape and takes the form of a giant eagle, attempting to fly out from the maze of thorns and back home to San Dimas. But that doesn't work, of course, because since when has it been that easy to get what he wants? Henry comes crashing back down to earth, taking fall damage that triggers him to shift back into his human form, though when he pushes himself to his feet and dusts himself off, he realizes that he's not entirely back to normal. He's got wings. Leftover from his transformation? No, that doesn't seem to be the case, because these aren't eagle wings. They aren't even wings that match. One is the wing of a sparrow, and the other is the wing of a lark. Henry takes a moment to be grateful that they're at least appropriately sized for a grown adult man, otherwise he works really look ridiculous! ]

Aww, geez! [ He pauses, hearing that music again, and it instills in him the drive not to give up. To keep searching for his boys until he finds them! So, he takes off running. ]

I'm coming, boys! Stay right there and— and don't do anything I wouldn't do!

[ He runs, and runs, and gets more nicks and cuts from thorns as he progresses through the maze, and finally he's been running so long that when he does actually stumble upon someone, it doesn't matter to him that it's not his sons Lark and Sparrow. He's just so happy to see another person that he runs right up to them and gives them a great big bear hug. ]

Ohh boy, you have no idea how glad I am to see you!!

2. OUT OF THE WOODS
(cw blood mention)

[ Once Henry's out of the maze, he realizes that, while most of the cuts from the thorns aren't anything serious, the stab wound that has bled through the better portion of his shirt actually might be. So he casts Cure Wounds on himself, and heads for the recovery area to see if he can be of any use helping heal other people who might be hurt. ]

Here, let me help with that! I'm going to cast Healing Word. And the word is... togetherness!

[ There's a glow of healing magic, and whatever small wound you had is looking a little bit better. Henry, for his part, looks pretty proud of himself. ]

3. WILDCARD

[ want to plot something else? HMU @ millennialfalcon or ©hris#1234 to come up with other ideas! ]

A thousand cuts | Im so sorry

[glitchinthesystem]

[ There were a lot of things Glitch was not expecting would happen today. One was waking up in the middle of what appeared to be wildlife, trees and flowers. The other following the sound of a singing woman and needing to find someone, anyone. The last thing?

Definitely had not expected some random strange to appear right out of the blue and hug him. Glitch is momentarily stunned and frozen in place out of confusion because what was happening right now? It takes a few moments before reality comes crashing back in and he realizes there's some...weird adult hugging him.

He's never really seen anyone older than eighteen so this is supremely bizarre, but first and foremost he is being hugged. By a stranger.

Nah that can't stand. ]

HEY, GET THE FUCK OFF ME! [ Don't mind him as he just brings his knee up fast right towards your stomach there, Henry.]

[overnightoaks]

[ The loud curse word being tossed his way thankfully serves to bring Henry back to his senses, and he lets go, backing up, his eyes widening as he realizes what he's just done. ]

Ah, I-I-I'm sorry, young man, I didn't mean to invade your bodily autonomy there... I was just so glad to see somebody else around here I, uh... Well, I don't know quite what came over me!

[glitchinthesystem]

Yeah, well try that again and I won't hesitate to electrocute the life out of you, asshole.

[ He's already dusting himself off from the unwanted hugging as he eyes the man suspiciously. There are a lot of questions to be had, one of them being answered; that this guy was not a figment of his imagination.

Glitch squints at the man a little more before saying; ]

So. How old are you anyways? 60? 52?

[overnightoaks]

[ Ohhhhhkay, point taken that the kid does not like physical contact! Henry will respect that! Lark and Sparrow definitely went through phases when they didn't want to be touched. (Though, they would eventually come around to the opinion that touches are okay as long as they're punches or kicks... It's a work in progress.) ]

I'm... 39? I don't really look 60, do I??

All Glitch needs to do is start screaming power, power, and Henry will feel right at home

[glitchinthesystem]

[ Glitch still can't help but survey the man a little more critically, tilting his head side to side as he looks at Henry. The question asked only serves to get Glitch to shrug and answer in kind; ]

I dunno. You're the first adult I've ever seen in the flesh. So I don't know what you're supposed to look like at 39.

It looks awful though. [ Isn't he nice? ]

1.

[xploud]

[Okay, so this definitely isn't anything Katsuki thought he'd find in this damned hedgemaze. With just his school uniform, scarf, and one of his grenadier bracers (he was in a fight before this, to rescue the eldest Todoroki son from a villain), he holds up the gauntlet to fire at the approaching noise, but hold when he sees a...bird? Wait, is that--]

Eh? Hawks?

[Oh wait, definitely not. Not unless that Spoonbill playboy aged another twenty-five or so years and held himself like, well...like Katsuki's own mousey father. He's floored by the weird sense of uncomfortable familiarity with just that alone, taking an awkward step back because, dude...personal space. That is, before he spies the stab wound still very much dripping blood. Katsuki may be abrasive, but he's still a hero - it's his fucking job to be, uhh...concerned about that.]

Oi, oi stop fucking flailing!! You're gonna tear yourself open more, idiot! [Rip, his poor scarf, but it's the easiest thin to use as makeshift bandages for now. He rip it off and bunches it up, moving closer now to give this guy some first aid.] C'mere, hold still.

[overnightoaks]

Huh?

[ In all the hubbub and commotion and following of foxes, Henry had kind of almost forgotten about the whole stab wound thing. But now that it's been brought back to his attention... Yeah, it does hurt quite a lot, actually? ]

Oh, that, I-I-I don't know what's going on? I mean, there's a lot happening and I don't know how or why, but Lark stabbed me and then there was this fox, and then I was here surrounded by all these flowers and I know I'm not on Earth anymore but I don't think this is the Forgotten Realms either, and and— aw, geez, now I'm rambling like some kind of... Well, I don't want to say "crazy person," because that's ableist language, but you know what I mean!

[ Deep breaths, Hen. (Ugh, he can hear the voice of his father telling him to do some yoga and count to ten and that is NOT helping his nerves!) ]

I-I-I'm just freaking out!!??

[xploud]

Tch, that makes fucking two of us. Ah--...

[Holy shit, this guy rambles worse than fucking Deku does!! Katsuki tunes out almost instantly, because he doesn't understand a damn thing of what's being vomited out by this smelly, old fart, and instead focuses on the task at hand. He's not in costume, having only the one gauntlet on his one arm and his school uniform, so...sadly no medical kit (yes, he does have one - Recovery Girl mandated them all to carry a portable one after all the shit they've been through), but he can do what he can for now. If the guy is moving and talking this much, it may not be so bad.]

Couldn't tell. [He grunts, pressing his bunched up scarf to the wound to try and staunch the bleeding.] Oi, you attached to that shirt you got? Cuz I'm not giving up any more'a my shit, and it's already torn through.

[Seriously, the blood-soaked part Katsuki can tear off, but the clean parts can be repurposed for bandages.]

[overnightoaks]

[ Henry glances down at himself, notes the fact that his shirt is covered in dirt, blood, and small cuts. Not to mention the two big rips in the back where his wings came through.

That's... something he's going to have to freak out about later, if those don't go away on their own. He can only freak out about so much at one time. ]

Ah, no, I think this shirt's pretty much a goner.

[ He starts unbuttoning the front and gently trying to shrug out of it, thankful that his organic cotton undershirt is still mostly intact. (Again, except for the blood from the stab wound and the wing holes...) ]

Thanks for helping with your scarf, by the way. I hope that isn't completely ruined now, too...

[xploud]

[Dear god, that shirt is gaudy as hell... His parents would fucking love it.

The thought alone makes a very sick tightness fill Katsuki's chest, thinking of his mom and dad that is, and he exhales sharply. Right, need to get this shirt sorted, find out what the fuck happened, and get in contact with UA or Endeavor's agency. Someone that can tell his teachers that he's safe, alive, and unharmed. And hopefully...ugh. Help him. Another thought that deepens the scowl on his face even more, into a borderline growl, because this is the SECONF FUCKING TIME he's been...taken somewhere else against his will, and...

Focus. Heroes are supposed to help people. Focus on that for now, you piece of shit. Worry about the rest later.]

S'fine. [He can always get another one. It's not like it's got any sentimental value or anything. Just another garment. Katsuki takes the shirt and easily shred through it - yes, with his bare hands - and moves the undershirt up calmly and begins to apple the makeshift bandages after an initial once over.]

Doesn't look too bad - doubt any major arteries or organs were pierced, either... But these won't hold forever, and I don't got no meds to clean the wound, either. Not to mention the bloodloss. You need a proper doctor.

Can you walk? [Because while the best thing to do is let this guy rest and heal without aggravating the wound, Katsuki's worried about infection and him losing too much blood. He tugs out his phone from his back pocket and, shocker, no service. They're SOL in that regard.]

2

[integrous]

[ .. Asahi stares at her hand, where the thorn scratches from a moment ago are just.. suddenly gone.

Maybe this isn't the thing she should be questioning here, after talking foxes and cats and some weird, weird situations, and yet she feels so confused all over again. Of course there's also people here who can magically heal people like that, as if this is some sort of fictional story. Of course literally everything weird that could happen is happening.

It's only when Asahi is done processing that thought that she finally seems to realise something else. Her gaze suddenly snaps up at Henry, frowning. ]

Wait, why togetherness?

[ Apparently this is the thing she has decided to actually question out loud, unlike the ten thousand other weird things happening right here in this moment. ]

[overnightoaks]

[ No one's ever question his word choice before. But then, he's mostly been using Healing Word around his fellow dads, so maybe there was a certain dadness that was just accepted by that demographic. ]

Because... Because we have to work together! Right?

[ That makes sense! Doesn't it? ]

[integrous]

I.. guess..?

[ Guess who doesn't look convinced.

This girl over here, that's who. Henry is receiving a very typical sceptical teen look from her right now. Like she isn't sure how to feel about some random guy just telling her that on the spot. ]

Do you have to make up a word every single time you do that? [ The healing powers are really cool and all, but that just seems like an odd way of doing it in Asahi's eyes! ]

[overnightoaks]

[ Huh. That's not a reaction Henry is used to getting. He's a little unsure how to respond, fidgeting slightly under pressure. ]

Ah, well. No, I don't think it's strictly necessary to come up with a new word... There is a verbal component to the spell, but...

[ He shrugs, looking sheepish. ]

I dunno, it just gives it a little extra flavor!

[integrous]

[ Asahi, judging by her expression, is clearly unsure how she feels about his idea of flavour.

On the other hand, it's not really hard to see that the guy is getting kind of nervous about it in the moment. And while Asahi is honest and blunt to a fault, it's not like the first thing she wants to do upon being dumped into some strange and mysterious world to be insulting literally everyone around her.

Even if some of the people around her are corny dads, apparently. ]

Well.. If it makes you happy.

[ What a compromise, Asahi.

A gold star for trying. ]

You seem weirdly cheery though. I mean.. don't you think any of this is strange? [ Granted, Asahi comes from a normal world, so she's kind of expecting everyone to have that sort of background and experiences here. Not the sort of background that leads you to not be surprised by being dragged off to another world. ]

2.

[backronym]

[The cuts on his hands and arms are far from the worst injury Theo's ever received, now that the painful tugging deep in his chest is ebbing. The skin stings, and moving too much brings little prickles of pain, but it's nothing that a few bandages wouldn't solve--certainly nothing that feels worth using magic to resolve.

Which doesn't mean that Theo doesn't look utterly pleased as he turns his hand over, studying the freshly-closed skin with awe.]

--wicked. How'd you do that?

[overnightoaks]

[ Henry looks pretty pleased with himself, even if Healing Word isn't all that impressive a spell, compared to some of the other ones he knows. ]

Oh, well, that was a little spell called Healing Word!

[backronym]

[To someone without magic, of course, prestidigitation is pretty hecking impressive--let alone something with an actual real-world impact.]

Absolutely brilliant. [Another moment turning his hand over, looking for the signs that this was only an illusion before giving his fingers a pleased flex.] Have you always been able to do that?

[overnightoaks]

Uh, sort of?

[ It's a bit more complicated a question than the young man probably intends, but Henry doesn't see any reason to keep the information to himself, so he'll answer. ]

I learned how to do it when I was a kid, but then I went through a period where I had pretty bad amnesia, so I sort of forgot all about it for a while. I only recently started back up again.

[backronym]

Like a sorcerer.

[Do wizards and sorcerers care about the distinction? If anyone does, it's probably them.]

Here's hoping it's a bit easier on the second go.

2. OUT OF THE WOODS (Spoilers for AHS: Apocalypse)

[desiretoplease]

[Misty was all scratched and torn from her head to her toes. she was still trying to untangle branches from her wavy blonde hair. everything had been happening so fast, first she was in Hell, suffering for what felt like hundreds, thousands of years.

then the voodoo demon and his little helper made short work of her former middle-school biology teacher, each taking one of her hands to lead her out of Hell. next she knew, she was being hugged by Miss Cordelia and hugging Miss Mallory as she finally truly felt she'd found her tribe.

then the fox. and the hedge maze.

now here, trying to reassure the kitty people to not make a fuss, she was fine, really, nothing a little Louisiana mud wouldn't cure. only to have the realization that she no longer could get access to any Louisiana mud anymore.

but resurgence, her witchcraft, those were hers no matter where she went. right?

she's fussing over a fairly deep cut to her left bicep when a man comes in out of nowhere and--

--and it's magic. that much she could feel. but nothing at all like the witchcraft Misty was used to. so she gave the man a confused look]

How'd ya do that? I thought men couldn't be witches.

my turn for canon spoilers I guess

[overnightoaks]

[ Henry's always happy when his magic can help someone. After getting back home to San Dimas, he wasn't sure he would ever get a chance to use his magic again. Sure, there's nothing exactly convenient about getting kidnapped by an otherworldly fox and dragged into some kind of weird pocket dimension, but it feels good to be of some use here.

He beams, and gently corrects the assumption. ]

Oh, I'm not a witch. I'm a druid! I do know a couple witches, though.

yaaaaay, spoilers!

[desiretoplease]

[it was probably a testament to how weird Misty's life could get that this wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to her. but at least it wasn't horrible-weird, like Descensum had been. that was one trick she wasn't going to try again, even though it meant she wasn't the next Supreme.

though, she'd admit she liked the idea at the time. it would've been nice to go from one friend to having a whole bunch of people relying on her]

What's a druid? I never heard of those before. And d'you know Miss Cordelia? She's a witch, best there is.

[overnightoaks]

I can't say I know any Cordelias, but I know Erin O'Neil! She's a garden witch, and she's been a big help to me and my friends.

[ Really, they wouldn't have made it half as far in their quest to rescue their sons and get back to Earth if it hadn't been for Erin's help. ]

And, a druid is somebody who casts, like... nature spells and things like that. Sort of a spellcaster who's in tune with the plants and animals, and just the natural world. You know?