bopbay | TEST DRIVE 01

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TEST DRIVE 01

⋆✩ test drive 01 ✩⋆

ECHOES IN THE STORM
( CWS: BODY HORROR AND RISK OF DROWNING )

The day begins like any other. Routines, eventful scenes, and boring errands — no matter what you were in the middle of, there's a moment where everything begins to feel wrong. A searing pain tears through your body, so intense that it feels like every nerve has been struck at once. Muscles spasm, joints scream in protest, and as you double over, you find yourself clawing or clinging at anything within your reach. As your attempts to maintain composure fail you, your bones begin to twist with an agonizing force, the pain rising in a crescendo until it becomes unbearable to even breathe. Then, as quickly as it began, everything stops.

For a single, terrifying moment, there's nothing. No sight, no sound, no touch, no taste, no smell — just the weight of nothingness swallowing you whole. The absence of sensation might even be worse than the pain, leaving you adrift in a void you can't escape. Hopelessness threatens every fiber of your existence, and try as you might to fight it, your darkest thoughts begin to surface, flooding your mind in an onslaught of suffocating feelings and ideas.

In the darkness, you hear a voice.

It's faint, a gentle flashing of something warm along the edges of your mind, like sunlight itself. It's a voice, but you can't identify who or what it comes from, how it sounds, or what it means — still, you know it's directed at you. Something tugs at your heart, a powerful ache that throbs once and ripples outwards. You can feel the aches again, like fresh sores throughout your body. You feel off, like something isn't quite right, like you're not where you should be, or who you should be. But the voice continues, whispered just beyond your understanding. The sound is warm like hope, and it wraps around you, distant yet intent, before you wake up.

You gasp for breath, and water spills into your lungs, causing your new form to flail out. An assortment of different appendages hinder your ability to swim, if you even had one in the first place, and every sensation returns to you at once in an overwhelming sensory bang.

You are now a Pokemon. But that's hardly the thing to be focusing on right now, as you are also currently drowning in a stormy sea. If you can manage to squint through the pouring rain and the pounding waves, you might spot the beach of Bottlecap Bay, or the cliffs just north of it. An assortment of Pokemon are there, along the shores, shouting at one another.

But as another wave threatens to knock you beneath the sea for good, you recognize just how many of you are stuck out here. Lightning flashes above with an immediate boom of thunder, and something in your chest tells you they are the same as you.

Those who are able to gain a quicker grasp on their new bodies may be able to help with the rescue efforts of their fellow new arrivals. The rest of you will just have to survive.

FOR THE WEARY
( JANUARY 19TH—JANUARY 31ST )

After everyone that can be found is rescued from the stormy seas, Mightyena is quick to offer the Oran Berries base as a place of rest for all new characters while their arrival is being looked into. Pokemon are shoved into any of the room styles without regard for ranking because this is temporary Housing, but will have to share their rooms. All Oran Berry guild amenities will be available to them during this time.

After arranging that, and having each new arrival stop by the Pokeclinic for their own health, characters will be met with a very fair and kind welcome: they are free to explore Bottlecap Bay, make themselves at home, and get used to their new bodies. Dr. Denne loudly and excitedly proclaims that he will be looking into this new, strange phenomenon immediately, and every Pokemon of the city seems to be in agreement: they're afraid and wary of humans, but they're not ones to turn away someone in need. They are willing to trust these characters, and hope their trust will not be broken.

For the time being, shop keepers throughout the city will be offering things to new arrivals free of charge to help them get on their feet.

A. ⟡ SWEETS AND TREATS

One of the best things about Bottlecap Bay is the assortment of delicious food, made for Pokemon, by Pokemon! Now, this might sound intimidating at first, but not to fret — Pokemon food tastes so delicious it's almost hard to believe! Of course, each Pokemon has their own tastes, so some may prefer the sweet while others search for spicy, but rest assured, there's something for everyone.

Unfortunately, as characters are still adjusting to their new bodies, these little snacks are causing trouble around the city with a number of strange, new effects. Some characters may experience the activation of their new abilities upon eating their favorite flavor of food! Try to dodge any stray thunderbolts while you're enjoying the poffins, and beware of bubble at the malasada stand's tables! In addition to this, some new arrivals have mentioned their moods being affected, with some suddenly becoming gloomy, excited, angry, or anything in between.

B. ⟡ AN ATTEMPT AT COMFORT

Various Pokemon clothing shop owners in Bottlecap Bay have noticed that the new arrivals seem very shy about their appearances. Hiding behind walls, covering themselves... It's not like anyone minds if you go around as you are, but they have a solution! New arrivals may have one item for free! That means that they may have one item of clothing without needing to barter for it. This is a rare chance, so make sure you take advantage of it!

However, a naughty little Impidimp has hexed the clothing items, unbeknownst to shopkeepers! Though not every piece of clothing is affected, many shops were hit, and each type of clothing has a different hex to go along with it. When Pokemon put on the item in question, they may experience the following:

HEADWEAR (hats, ear accessories, etc) ⟡ Have the strong urge to overshare about themselves to others. Lying feels difficult.
NECKWEAR (scarves, necklaces, etc) ⟡ Become incredibly cold, and will only be comforted by contact with others. Cuddle time!
TOPS (shirts, hoodies, capes, etc) ⟡ Suddenly become obsessed with their new abilities, and want to battle everything that moves.
BOTTOMS (pants, skirts, leggings, etc) ⟡ Overwhelmed with the desire to make more animalistic noises based on their Pokemon. Meow!
SHOES (booties or anything on the feet) ⟡ Become incredibly clumsy, dropping things, tripping and falling all over the place.
MISC (anything that does not apply to the other categories) ⟡ Some of their thoughts will be spoken aloud on accident. Hope you weren't thinking something mean!

C. ⟡ ALL CLEANED UP

Does it feel a little awkward, sitting around and watching all the other Pokemon clean up after this storm? The guild base you're staying in is damaged and dealing with periodic leaks, the storefronts closest to the beach have suffered water damage, and the intense winds have damaged structures throughout the city. Streets are being swept and tidied from blown in debris, injured Pokemon are taking up a majority of the hospital beds, and there's an endless need for construction assistance in both stone and wood parts of structures.

Characters will not be forced or even encouraged to help out, but if they offer, their help will be gratefully accepted! Those who take part in a lot of the cleanup will certainly be remembered by those with more prominent positions in the clean up efforts, such as the guild leaders.

While you have free reign of the city, the guild leaders and Dr. Denne are hard at work looking into solutions and explanations for your sudden arrival. They promise to update you as soon as they have more information, but in the meantime... there's a whole city to explore, and a new body to do it in! Feel free to use the Locations page to come up with different prompts using available locations, if you'd like.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
( FEBRUARY 1ST—FEBRUARY 8TH )

With the large storm past and the clean up and repairs complete, all of Bottlecap Bay can now focus on the upcoming festival! Now, this is a rather small affair, lasting for only one day and night, but to the Pokemon of Bottlecap Bay, it's important. Each year, there is an expected meteor shower, and psychic Pokemon have recently received the date for this year's. Known simply as Starfall, this festival centers around wishes, the unknown, and the future!

Legend says that if you close your eyes and wish upon a falling star, there's a strong Pokemon that can make it come true. The stronger your heart, the more your wish will be heard, though there are additional small superstitions about what you should do in order to better be heard.

For the week leading up to Starfall (which falls on the night of the 9th of February), the city will be decorated in a starry theme, with food and clothing to match! The night life of the city becomes that much more active, with games that you'd expect to find at any festival being played in Pokemon form, friendly sparring battles held on the beach, and fortunes! Farigiraf Fortunes are one-time fortunes that Pokemon pull during the week leading up to the festival to show your luck for the following year. Bad fortunes should be tied on festival decorations around the city in order to dispel the ill fortune. With your new bodies, though, you may just need some help to tie those off.

Throughout the week, feel free to make up your own festival games to participate in for top levels. For the festival food, some of it may make you feel sparkly or warm, reminding you of something distant yet oh-so-close... What could it be?

SOMETHING TWISTING IN MY HEART
( BEGINNING FEBRUARY 1ST )

The city has moved on from the storm, but the truth of the matter is that you haven't. Even if you think you have, can you really say as much? After all, your body still aches at night, your mind still spins when you try to recall that voice, and that void, and you don't belong here. Beginning February 1st, characters may begin to have intermittent nightmares.

These nightmares vary from person to person, but their core is the same: your inner doubts, your worries about the future, the present, and the past all come to a head here. Nightmares cause you to lose sleep at night and lose focus during the day. The more you lose yourself to these fears and feelings, the more you begin to change, your darker traits becoming more emphasized as your ability to talk yourself through situations becomes weaker. You can't do this alone.

Nightmares will slowly increase in frequency and intensity until hallucinations begin to occur even during the daytime. Characters might believe that those around them are out to get them, or are adding to those self-doubting and criticizing feelings. Worries pile on and begin to affect you physically, leading to more body aches and pains, loss of control, and occasional rampages.

In order to break free from this worsening condition, you must share these doubts or feelings with another. Surface level admissions won't count for this. All characters who do not manage this task by the 10th of February, just after Starfall, will find themselves automatically freed from the horrible nightmares. How strange was that? It's like as soon as everyone made their wishes, that horrible feeling melted away completely.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Characters who experience nightmares but do not have them cured by another character, and instead just "time out" at the end of the event, will have plot relevance in a future event. They may experience emotional or light physical harm in the future, so feel free to handwave an NPC helping them out if you'd like to opt out of that.

NOTES.

⟡ TDMs are game canon and act as events for the month they are posted.

⟡ We will normally have a newbie directory for new characters only! However, since this is our first TDM and everyone will be new, there will be no directory.

⟡ All characters on this TDM are unassigned to any guild as of yet!

⟡ Remember that at least one thread for your application must come from the TDM! There is no comment minimum, but we will be looking for engagement, as well as for players and characters who take the time to delve into things like character thoughts, emotions, morality, and other deep themes. Take this time to engage with the setting as you would in game!

⟡ Dates listed beneath prompts are meant to be helpful guides for the more time-sensitive aspects (cleaning up from the storm, nightmares beginning, etc), but general city exploration and other ideas like that can be done at any time.

⟡ Farigiraf Fortunes will just be little omikuji fortunes with an included lucky Pokemon and lucky color. You can make up your own, but if you'd like one randomly generated for you, reply here!

⟡ Please be sure to mark for any content warnings in your threads when applicable, such as with the nightmare prompt.

⟡ Have any questions related to the TDM? Ask here! If your question is more general for the game, please make sure to direct it to the FAQ page instead. Thank you, and happy threading!

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What the hell is going on?

Ren's consciousness snaps awake in an instant as water fills his lungs. His limbs flail, but it's- wrong, everything feels all wrong. He struggles to get a hold of himself, and there's a brief flash where he wonders if this is the Metaverse, but none of his Personas answer to him, no matter how hard he tries.

All that compounded, the waves throw him around, and it is only then that he notices: he's not alone. Bumping into things here and there, he can't quite make out what they are, but they're certainly not human. Shadows? Cognitions? But, even in his panicked state, he recognizes that this isn't the Metaverse.

With water in his lungs and his mind frazzled, he tries his best to fight against it, but all too soon, he finds himself getting dragged under, unable to claw his way back to the surface. His vision start going dark, panic settling it-

OOF!

He's harsly smacked against... something. Someone? Wet feathers slap against him, the something certainly struggling. He can't make out who or what it is beyond 'vaguely bird-shaped', though, hacking and caughing and gurgling as he takes water into his lungs. Whatever or whoever this is, Ren's in no state to help them- he clearly can't even help himself right now.

"Watch it!" Akechi snaps, still flailing his wings. It's too dark to make out anything more than pointed ears and fur against his... feathers. He really has feathers.

He's a bird.

Oh, the irony is not lost on him.

Still, with some effort, he slowly, if shakily, hovers out of the water. As he does so, he stares down at the cat, larger than him, because of course it is.

And it's... drowning.

Damn it all. He should fend for himself, but the mere sight gives him a painful, twisting sort of feeling. Guilt? Over a stranger?

Reluctantly, he moves closer, flexing his toes. It's questionable if he'd even be able to lift a larger creature, but fine.

He'll grab at the scruff of the cat's neck and try.

That voice- that voice is familiar-!

"A-ke-" he gurgles, taking another facefull of water, "'Kechi?"

Any thoughts he might have of dreaming, or wondering if he's hallucinating are drowned out by the churning waves and thunderous storm. He keeps haplessly flailing about, not even aware that the bird has taken to the sky, until he feels two thin, clawed feet dig into his back.

The panic is momenterily cut through as he feels himself... not quite being lifted, but he hears wings flapping, something moving above him. It gets a little easier to stay above the water, though he's clearly not out of the woods yet.

Is it trying to help him?

He still can't figure out how to swim, his limbs not quite cooperating, but- something. He has to do something. He can't just let himself die, not here, not now. Not after everything he went through. He wants to live, dammit!

It feels like it takes all the effort in the world, but he starts moving his arms and legs (paws???) with some amount of coordination, trying to dog-paddle his way towards land, together with the bird.

Wait, that voice—

"Ren?!" Damn it. Of course he'd be here, too. Not that this is necessarily a complaint, but—

Gah! Stupid wings. He flaps harder, gripping onto the scruff of Ren's neck. That's usually how mother cats lift their kittens, anyway, and it's his best chance.

With his small size, this is easier said than done, but Akechi is stubborn. "I'm not going to let you die here."

There it is again- Akechi's voice. It's kind of hard to make out over the storm, but it's definitely him. The bird- it can't be, is that Akechi?

But Ren has no time to question these things right now, paddling for his life. He's exhausted, and his wet fur (fur??????) is dragging him down, but he won't give up.

"Me- neith'r," he manages to sputter, but every word makes water fill his mouth, so he deigns not to open it again. It's hard enough to breathe as is, even with Akechi's help. He's disoriented, and he can't really see where they're going, so he can only hope Akechi has some sight on where land is.

"I cannot believe this is our reunion..." Of all the ways it could have gone. Still, he keeps flapping, even if it's straining him.

Though it's hard to see in the dark, there is land in the distance. "Keep kicking. Do a dog paddle if you must. It'll make both of our lives easier."

That's what I'm doing, asshole!

That's what he wants to say, but with the churning water, he keeps his mouth shut, and does, indeed, keep kicking. There are a thousand questions swirling through his mind for Akechi, but with their current predicament, it's a little hard to focus on them... or even care. They need to get to safety, and quick- he's not sure how much longer he can keep this up. Every breath feels more laborous than the last, and it's only by sheer willpower alone that he hasn't passed out yet.

They have to be close to something, right? They have to be... they have to be...

Ren gasps when he feels sand, blessed land beneath his feet, which, unfortunately, also serves to fill his mouth with more seawater. He coughs harshly, not noticing the big wave that's rising up behind them...

"Damn it! Hurry, there's a wave coming up!" He flaps even harder, but it's taking its toll, certainly. They just need to get away from the ocean, get their asses onto some solid ground, and then they can figure out the rest.

Oh, shit.

Ren tries to rush forward as fast as he can, digging his feet in the sand to gain momentum, but both the water and the sand are working against him. He can't pick up enough speed, even with Akechi's help, his lungs and all his muscles screaming in protest-

But it's too late. The wave catches up to them, and suddenly they're both being dragged under, and all Ren can do is try keep more water from entering his lungs while clinging to Akechi. They're being tossed around until Ren doesn't know up from down anymore, hoping against all hopes that they make it out of this okay.

Then, with a wet smack, they crash into the beach hard enough that Ren blacks out for a moment. When he comes to again seconds later, he starts coughing and hacking up water, his body trying to expell it as best as it can.

Wait- where is-?!

"Ak -cough- Akechi?!"

"Right here." Akechi taps Ren's back with a wing, just to make it clear. He's tried shaking off the water, but since it was seawater, he'll probably need a proper bath or shower.

But one thing at a time. First, they need to get their bearings. "Still alive, I see. That's good."

Ren would let out a sigh of relief, if he weren't so busy still hacking up water. Still, he is glad, sagging a little against the small bird that is now Akechi.

"Yeah," he forces out, weakly grinning, "same to you."

That said... where are they? And what are they? Ren noticed before while swimming, but he's... clearly not human anymore, and neither is Akechi. Actually, around them, there's more strange creatures. They don't seem hostile for now, but that could just as quickly change.

"What... is this place?" he says, after a moment of catching his breath. "This isn't the Metaverse."

"No, it isn't, and I can't sense Hereward, either." He heaves a loud sigh, sitting down beside Ren. They both look ridiculous, obviously, and yet... "There are locals here, creatures not unlike us. They seem surprised that so many of us dropped in, even more surprised at my claims that we're both human."

A derisive little snort escapes him. "So it's an isekai, I suppose. Why not, at this point?"

Ren can't help a small laugh.

"Ever the detective, huh?"

But Akechi's right. From what he can see around him, the creatures are all various shades of surprised and trying to help others who got washed up by the storm. All sorts of colorful shapes and body plans, but somehow... Ren feels like they're the same as him and Akechi.

"This would happen to us, wouldn't it," he sighs. "You think the others are here too, somewhere?"

"I've yet to see them, and I suspect if they were here, we'd hear Sakamaoto screaming loudly about the Phantom Thieves." Okay, so perhaps that's rather harsh, but surely it's not out of character. Skull seldom thinks before acting. It's simply a matter of fact.

Still, he does relax a little, as they talk. It's grounding, in a way. "Then again, with so many of us lost at sea, who knows? For now, I suppose we've no choice but to play along, at least until we can gather more information." He shakes his head... Well, as best he can with such a stubby neck. "Really, I was on the way to deal with some... business. Tie up loose ends, as it seems the destruction of Maruki's reality wasn't the death sentence I anticipated."

"Give Ryuji some credit. He deceived you, didn't he?"

But again, Akechi's not exactly wrong, either. If Ryuji were here... they'd probably know already, if only because he'd be yelling in confusion. As for the rest... Ren can only hope, but in these strange forms, it's hard to recognize anyone. Looking closer at Akechi, he definitely recognizes the silhouette of his mask, though.

Wait-

"You were alive the whole time?!" Ren asks, distraught. "Why didn't you tell anyone?! I- you- I thought-"

Several emotions cross his face, before he slumps, letting out another small, wet cough.

"... If my body didn't feel like such a sack of waterlogged, beaten up potatoes right now, I would've punched you."

For good measure, he gives Akechi a clumsy tap with his paw.

Really, he's not surprised by the reaction. He's even considered all the ways he could theoretically tell Ren that he lived. He hesitated, because it was complicated. How do you walk back into someone's life when you're still grappling with the fact that you are alive?

"Perhaps I should be grateful, then." Ren is larger, after all. Not to mention, he undoubtedly has claws. "I had planned on telling you eventually, when I was certain my circumstances were... stable. But now you know."

"Eventually," Ren deadpans, unimpressed. "What were you even up to...? I really thought you were dead, you asshole."

His voice is low and annoyed, but... he also clearly doesn't have the energy to actually be mad. The storm really did a number on him.

He sighs.

"Even so, I'm glad you're alive." He gives a small smile. "And if there's anyone I'd have to get isekai'd with... I don't think you're the worst option by far."

"Well, to start, I woke up alive when I expected to die. I had to sort through my memories in the true reality to make sense of my circumstances. It was... disorienting, as I'm sure you can imagine."

Still, his tone sounds resigned more than defensive, and he also heaves a sigh. "But I digress. It's good to see a familiar face, and this absurd set of circumstances wouldn't be nearly as interesting without a worthy rival."

You're right," Ren hums. "Not like we can do anything about it right now, anyway..."

He turns to properly look at Akechi's new form. Oh, that's....

"I guess you being turned into a tiny round bird is punishment enough for me to not be too mad. Gorb."

He chuckles under his breath, amused. Even if Ren's certainly smaller than he used to be, he's still bigger than Akechi.

Akechi's eye twitches. His feathers fluff up, and then he whaps Ren with a wing. "Call me 'Gorb' one more time, and you will regret it."

Ren laughs, barely making a move to avoid the hit. It hurts a little, both to laugh and to get whacked by a wing, but he's too amused.

"Aw, come on. It's a cute nickname, don't you think?" He grins. "It certainly fits your current form."

"You know that cute and I don't exactly see eye to eye." Or did Ren really forget the intense screams as he tore through Shadows? Hmph. "It astonishes me that whatever forces dragged us here thought this was a suitable form for a mass murderer."

Of course he didn't. He's just being a little shit.

"I mean, the color scheme fits, but... I don't really know why I was turned into- a cat?-" He looks himself over- yeah, very catlike. "-either."

He likes cats, sure, but not this much! He suddenly feels a lot more sympathy for Mona.

"I don't know. You do have a rather cat-like demeanor." Hey, look, there's a little hint of laughter in his voice. "Not to mention, cats are quite agile, can be incredibly stealthy, and there's of course the term 'cat burglar' to consider."

Ren blinks at Akechi. Then, he laughs.

"Well thank you," he says with a grin, leaning back. "I guess you're not wrong. There's worse things to be turned into."

That said... his newfound fur feels extremely gross, wet and cold from the seawater, sand, and wind. He shivers involuntarily at a perticularly harsh gust. The storm hasn't quite died down yet.

A: Lost at Sea (CW: drowning)

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