March 2023 Test Drive Meme

[folkie]

March 2023 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]

we can't have nice things

Content Warnings: mild body horror

One minute you were a falling star but as your body reforms you become aware of several things: the breeze that caresses your skin is not quite chill, and smells of fresh rain and flowers, while whatever you are laying on is both soft but also a little pointy. Once you've come fully to your senses you will discover that you are laying inside of a giant nest. Around you are eggs at least as tall as you if not larger, and another Star Child like yourself. The nest is, surprisingly, not in a tree but rather on the ground. Looking around will reveal there are a few such nests, some of which have giant white fluffy bunnies sitting on the eggs like hens. Some of them cluck in low, ominous tones.

Okay then.

There are broken eggshells on the floor of the nest of course, but these are rather unusual in that the insides are coated with gold. Look closer at the giant eggs and you will see that they have a faint light glowing inside. You can just barely make out something that sure doesn't look organic.

Well, well. Something valuable might just be in there!


make an omelette

You can use one of the bigger branches making up the nest, any powers you might have, or one of the funky new traits you might have been gifted. Maybe you can just use ol' Fisty and Punchy there on the ends of your arms. However you choose to do it, you can bust that egg wide open to claim your prize!

But what spills from the egg is a beautiful, shining version of yourself. Radiant. Angelic. Perfect.

And then your lookalike belches and mutates before your very eyes into a gooey, gelatinous horror. (You ever see Akira?) At its center is another egg, this one small and golden.

This creature wastes no time at all in attacking you and whoever else has the misfortune to be in the nest with you whether they helped you break the egg or not. Good luck fighting it off! Lucky for you if you look outside of the next you will find regular weapons scattered about - non-enchanted guns, knives, shields and the like.

Due to its gooshy and malleable form, the creature is extremely hard to damage, but the little gold egg is of course the key: smash that, and the creature will melt away. It leaves a sticky, foul smelling residue but also a golden chest. Inside, each of you will find some canon clothes and/or an item from your homeworlds. (This may include a canonical weapon.)


hope springs eternal

Perhaps you're not the destructive type. (Or maybe you've consumed enough media to know that bashing into things for treasure rarely ends well.) In that case, you are free to crawl out of the nest and try to find your way somewhere a little less weird.

Luckily there's a path that winds its way through tangled underbrush that sparkles with the condensation of spring mornings. The path leads you over shallow hills and into a field of wildflowers, all nodding in the breeze. You can see that the path leads on towards civilization but right in the center of the field and the path is a huge tree. It has many straight, evenly placed branches, which makes it perfect for climbing. In fact, it seems to beg to be climbed. There's definitely enough room for two to be able to do so.

The tree is crowned with another nest. This one is not so large as the ones you escaped - it could belong to a heron, or an osprey. Inside are several blue speckled eggs, about the size of a baseball.

Once you're at the top of the tree, you can see so much of the great realm of Folkmore. The air is clean and clear, and as you look out at this place you are filled with a bubbling sense of all that is possible with a fresh start.

You're so overcome with this feeling, as a matter of fact, that you feel compelled to share something you hope for with your companion. They just feel like someone you can trust with this right now.

A sharing of hopes and dreams has an unusual effect: it causes the eggs in the nest to hatch. They split open quite undramatically, and inside are flower bulbs, and some small sentimental object from home. Once planted and grown, these flowers will emit an aura of optimism; being near them will inspire you with hope. (The object from your homeworld may not be a weapon in this case.)

here's to my real friends

You've found yourself in any one of the neighbourhoods of Folkmore at dusk. The weather is pleasant and perfect for walking, so naturally that makes this a great time to explore wherever you've wound up.

While taking your little stroll, you suddenly hear a noise: a soft waow. Or maybe instead you see two wide eyes staring at you from the shadows. Stopping and waiting a moment will reward you with the appearance of a cat.

Well, sort of.

It's at least partly a cat. The other part seems to be something else. A slug, or an owl, or a moth perhaps. Any other critter that is approximately cat-sized or smaller. This hybrid cat is extremely friendly, twining around your ankles and making cute noises.

Then it runs away. But not too far. And makes its little noises at you again.

Look, genius, it wants you to follow it.

Your cat hybrid will lead you unerringly to another hybrid cat, who is also being followed by a Star Child. Yes, these little creatures are forcing you into a meet-cute. Heavy emphasis on the cute.

Chatting with this stranger will result in happy cats. Try to ditch the person you've just met and the cats will yowl and hiss at you. You can of course ignore them and storm off like the antisocial gremlin you are, but is it really worth the racket? Maybe it's better to just hang out for a little while.

This is also a good time to familiarise yourself with your surroundings. Depending on where you are, there may be businesses that are still open, places to find food and drinks, or just natural landmarks worth looking at. You and your new companion may not be from worlds remotely similar to Folkmore after all, and it all may be a little overwhelming.

You will at least make a friend regardless if you go the sociable route - you can adopt your cat hybrid. But you have to feed it and clean up after it!

Comments

[spktr]

Is it far? This place seems massive from up here. [He peers around from the great view he has from the treetops, not knowing which way to look first. Terrifying as the thought of being in an unfamiliar world is, none of it looks particularly scary from where he's sitting... though that doesn't mean much.

The fact that she's opening up to him, a near stranger, does not go past Steven, and he feels honored she'd trust him when they'd only just met. Perhaps that trust is against her will but her words are met with a sympathetic smile and an understanding ear, even if she doesn't know it. He isn't about to run off and share her deepest emotions with people he barely knows too.]

I'm sorry to hear that. [And he means it genuinely, his eyes shifting into a somber blue color at the thought of her losing this person who was clearly so important. He tries not to think selfishly of his own losses, even if the thought clenches hard at his own heart.] I don't know what reason this place has only brought over some of us, and not others, but perhaps you'll get to see him again one day.

[rememoror]

Not entirely. We might also happen upon the catbus. He shows up sometimes when one needs to get somewhere and they're not entirely sure how to do so. He's also surprisingly quick. [ Because of course there's something like a catbus here. And of course people talk about it like that's just a common thing. Just like mice that have a language of song that serve you tea and little raccoon people that run food stalls. Nothing about this place fit normal and at some point a lot of people seemed to just accept that.

Besides, Thena had seen quite a lot in her very long life. Even more that existed only as fractured memories in a head filled with jumbled things. It was interesting to see things she wasn't entirely familiar with. Different, but interesting.

She shifts on the branch, flattening out the white flowing peasant dress that she favored on her outing today. It was loosely fitting, breathable, decent enough for both comfort and combat. Though there was a certain amount of fidgeting, almost awkwardness, in the way she pulls at it. It's a difficult topic still. One she should perhaps breach more often with people and yet, as always, she chooses to keep so much to herself and so much inside. ]

Many of us here have suffered great loses. We were lucky to go so very long with none. [ She looks off into the distance, her gaze growing distant before she shakes her head. ] Though perhaps in some ways that makes our recent loses all the harder. [ Who would have ever guessed they'd have so many in succession? She does smile at his attempt at comfort. ] Thank you. It's possible. My particular world seems fairly popular. Several of the Avengers are here. [ And one who looks very, very similar to him. But she just looks at him, waits to see if he reacts to that name at all. ] Strangely, there's two of the same individual even, though from different universes where their lives branched in different directions.

[spktr]

A... catbus. [He repeats slowly, trying to imagine what such a thing would look like in his mind, though he's certain the reality will be even more mental than what he's come up with.] Sure, why not? Can't be any stranger than clucking rabbits and exploding eggs, yeah?

[Oh, he has no idea.

Steven doesn't mean to make her uncomfortable with invasive inquiries and commentary, but something keeps compelling to speak to her and open up, even though they only just met. He isn't really the type to spout his hopes and dreams upon someone he just met either (it takes at least two meetings) but he feels the need to comfort this stranger, as if his words could change a thing when she's lived a life so beyond his own scope of understanding.

Before he can add on more attempts at comfort though she drops the word "Avengers" and recognition flits over his features almost immediately.]

You know about the Avengers? You're from Earth? Or, well, I suppose a version of it, but- [He cuts himself off with a smile and a breath of relief. The Avengers saved the universe by turning back time, surely they could manage getting them back home from a different realm? The hope that bursts forward is both his own but also this place's doing.] The more the merrier, honestly! Surely we could figure out a plan to get out of here if we put all our noggins together.

[rememoror]

Certainly less dangerous. I, at the very least, haven't known the catbus to ever be anything but helpful. [ And also usually very happy seeming. Which seemed a bit strange to say about the creature, but then again the creature itself was probably the top definition of strange. She was fond of it though and all the little creatures here. Perhaps a bit more fond than she should be.

She moved her legs over the branch as though she were preparing to move down when she noticed his look of recognition. That was something at least. ]

I'm from an Earth where the Avengers were a very big deal. Even my own kind found them rather impressive. [ How could they not after what they accomplished? ] Somehow they figured out how to save the world from a disaster caused by someone named Thanos. Before coming here I ran into his brother. [ She says it all rather casually. At least Eros seemed less insane than his brother. Points to him. Ah, his hope is almost infectious and she smiles wider and looks up to the sky. ] A positive and welcome thought to hear someone have. You might think so, but most seem content with being here.

[spktr]

Next thing you'll be telling me there's a dogplane and I'll just have to believe you. [He chuckles, less nervous this time around, starting to understand that reality in this place is not the same as what he's known back home. Then again, his reality had started to get all muddled together at some point too, so who knows what he should believe? Thena's calming presence is helping him trust what she has to say though, more than he normally would.

Her explanation gets him excited though, a bit more animated as he nods in clear agreement, shuffling a bit closer without thinking much of it.]

Thanos has a brother? Fascinating... I don't suppose he had any thirst for revenge or something of the sort, yeah? Earth could do with a breather, I think.

[Taking another deep breath, his shoulders relax some as he tries to not think about how easy it would be to resign oneself to a life like this, especially if it isn't as chaotic and horrible as home can feel sometimes. Then again, all he's seen thus far has been too bizarre for his own tastes.]

Are you content? You've been here quite some time... I can imagine how easy it could be to lose hope.

[rememoror]

It's an iguanaplane actually. [ Her facial expression only has the faintest hint of a smile there to indicate she's just joking there. Though he's right, in this place you never really know what is real or not real. Honestly, she would be surprised if some things came into being here based on people's thoughts or their worlds. ]

One whose very different than he is. [ Thena had only just met the man but that much was obvious within the very first few seconds of him arriving on her ship. She shakes her head though. ] No, I think he had much more interest in telling us our friends were in trouble than in anything to do with Earth. [ Honestly, she's not entirely sure why he'd arrived there or what he wanted. He'd seemed sincere in his offer to help, but she'd ended up here before she could get more solid answers.

Ah, that's a question and a half though. She closes her eyes and tilts her head back thoughtfully. ]

Not entirely. For seven thousand years my kind had only one mission. This place...offers a life outside of that, but...[ what do you do when you have no idea how to live a life like that? A life beyond just being the 'Warrior Eternal' without anyone she'd known? Struggle and flounder a bit, that's what. She shrugs after a moment. ] Sometimes it's surprising how much I don't actually know. It's also strange not having Gilgamesh here. I miss him. I miss them all I suppose. [ Spending 500 years in exile will definitely lead someone to being confused by a lot of the more modern things one can find here. Spending that much time being a warrior where the majority of her time was spent paired with one person will also lead one to be kind of shit with people. She really has no idea why she's saying so much here, it feels nice, but at the same time she does at least have hope she can learn. A faint hope, but it's there. Or perhaps it's just something here that's giving her that. It's hard to tell in this place. ]

I'm sorry, I'm not certain why I said that.

[spktr]

[There is a split second when Steven believes her but then the joke clicks and Steven breaks out into a wider smile of his own, laughing at the ridiculous image of an iguanaplane.] God, I'd say it's hard to imagine but if it's going to happen anywhere it would be here, wouldn't it?

[That tidbit about Thanos and his brother is tucked away into his mind though, wondering what he can even do with that information, but it seems important. A part of him is now wondering if all of them in this place would even remember being here, if they'd remember one another, once returning home. Steven isn't one to lose hope too quickly because the thought of returning is a no-brainer to him.]

Well, that's a relief. Maybe he's the black sheep of the family.

[His smile softens though, because what Thena confesses to next feels so personal even Steven wonders if she meant to share that much. There's something about this bloody tree... Thankfully, her words are taken seriously though, and Steven isn't the type to use any of this against her. Far from it.]

You're alright. I'd be more worried if you didn't miss your loved ones. [He's still smiling as he regards her, feeling a sense of connection being up here with her, sharing little bits of one another as if they're friends rather than new acquaintances. It makes no sense yet feels peaceful at once.] It would be boring knowing everything too, so it's probably for the best you're still learning day by day. Gives me hope the pursuit of knowledge is endless, even thousands of years in.

[rememoror]

It would. One thing I'll give this place is the simple fact that it's managed to surprise me in some rather pleasant ways. Rare when you get as old as I am. [ Unpleasant surprises? Well, they'd just had their fair share of that. Then again that could be said for the majority of people on their version of Earth given everything that had happened in the last few years. She does seem pleased however that he leaved. ]

Eros certainly seems....different. Very different. He even has a different type of precision that comes before him than his brother. [ His brother had a collection of powerful aliens that were bent on helping him attain his goals with names like Ebony Maw and Corvus Glaive and Eros had...Pip the Troll. ] He also thought himself a lot more charming than I think his brother would ever care to be. [ The jury was still out on if Thena thought he was charming at all. That's okay, Eros' opinion of himself was enough for both of them.

She shakes her head. ] Still, it's a lot to put on another. I'm usually not so...[ she moves a hand around. ] open. We were never meant to be. [ Can't really tell humans you've been on their planet for thousands of years watching without them either freaking out in some way or asking way too many questions. Sometimes a bit of both. Besides the fact that it was just forbidden. ] I'm certain almost everyone here has at least one loved one they've left behind. [ She tilts her head inquisitively at him. ] Including you, I imagine? [ She smiles, gentle again and nods. ] You'd get along with a few of us with a mentality like that. Sersi liked the idea o pursuing knowledge so much she took a job as a history professor at a museum. [ Which was also a bit ironic. ]

[spktr]

Eros... like the Greek god of love? Maybe there's something to that, then. I hope, anyhow. Better to have his brother named after love than war. [He pauses then, quickly realizing the similarity to Thena's own name and a certain goddess associated with war too, quickly backtracking as if he's said something offensive.] Only because of the context! Thanos and all, you know. Big bad, destroying half the universe, killing Avengers... sort of.

[God, he'll stop before he says something even more embarrassing.

It is wild to Steven that such interactions have been happening in the same Earth (well, potentially) and yet no one knows about it. He hasn't heard the name Thanos in the news for some time now, and while people will never quite move on completely from what happened, it feels like they're just waiting to endure the next cataclysmic event to the next. Even people like him and Marc have gotten involved in saving the world, yet no one really bats an eye anymore.

Her inquiry about his own loved ones is met with a sheepish smile and Steven wrings his hands together a bit, nodding along. He realizes it's only recently though he's had any "loved ones" at all, and that's too depressing of a point to bring up, even as they feel compelled to open up.]

Yes, I do hope they'll be alright, though they're the sort who can take care of themselves just fine. I know there's a version of me still wandering about London or whatever but it's too strange to think about. [He waves a hand dismissively in the air in front of him, nose wrinkling some at the thought.] Even though I'd like to see them again, I wouldn't wish them to be uprooted like this either. We were... just getting to a good spot. I wonder why she brought me here now.

[Little does he know one of the people he's speaking of is actually here in Folkmore too, but he'll find out soon enough.]

Oh, that sounds brilliant. [His expression brightens immediately at the thought, so similar to a secret dream of his own.] Is Sersi like you? I imagine she'd have lots of practical historical knowledge if she's lived for thousands of years.

[rememoror]

Something like that I imagine. He certainly seemed flirtatious enough for it. [ Someone trying to charm her had been interesting. Definitely not something Thanos would have done. Her eyebrows arches up at that and she wrestles back the ghost of a smile. ] Is it now? [ She shook her head and let the smile come in fully. ] Some might say that technically Thanos was more associated with Thanatos. But I suppose love is better than death. [ But none of them were really gods, so it didn't really matter whose domain was better. ] It's...unfortunate Thanos became as twisted as he was. [ Thinking on it now she wondered if perhaps that was just an unfortunate side effect of such long lives. Thinking that you knew better than others and becoming twisted. Now that was just a depressing line of thought.

She watches the movement, notes something about it that seems nervous and decides it's best to not push too hard on that. ]

It is rather odd to imagine, isn't it? A piece of us there and a piece of us here. Brings up too many questions that are probably best not analyzed. [ Like which of them was more real than the other. Things to deal with identity that were better left undisturbed. ] Maybe some are here already [ she shrugs. ] We're in a similar position then. We'd just gotten somewhere ....better, when I came here. [ So, she gets how conflicting and odd it can feel. ]

She is. She's one of the ten of us that arrived on Earth to protect it. [ Well that's not entirely true but that's a Story and a half ] out of all of us she probably got along the best with humans. Loved them dearly and in turn she loved their history. [ So yeah, lots of practical knowledge there. ]

[spktr]

You're right. With a name like that his destiny was almost predetermined, wasn't it? [The comparison to Thanatos is pretty on the nose and Steven has to think about it for a moment, wondering if there's a genuine connection between the people who truly affected humsn like Thanos had, compared to the gods from ancient civilizations. Knowing what he knows now about the reality of gods and god-like people, Steven isn't so quick to brush the history off as mere mythology.]

It's disturbing to think of some otherworldly doppelganger paying the bills and feeding the pets while we're here. [A light scoff, almost disbelieving.] Unless we're the frauds. I hadn't thought of it that way until this moment.

[Don't spiral, Steven. You've only just arrived.

It's easier to focus on someone else and their stories, or at least happy memories of loved ones.] There's plenty to love, she had great taste. [he chuckles] Not that I'm biased or anything.

[rememoror]

Mm, with what I know now...perhaps it was. [ Now that was quite the....unsettling thought. Had it been possible that Arishem had known of the potential for something like what Thanos did to happen? With all he'd created, all he'd seen, it was certainly possible. Had he known, he certainly would have never interfered to stop it himself. Not when he didn't actually see the people in the universe as true people. ]

Do you have pets to be fed? I don't know. Or bills. [ She smiled, trying to keep things light despite the thought that perhaps they weren't real. ] It's occured to me here and there. But for personal reasons, it's not something I like to think on.

[ She'd already found out she was basically a synthetic lifeform with a fake home planet created to just be a pawn. Best to not go down a path of thinking she was also a fraud here.

There's a brighter more earnest smile on her face thinking of Sersi and the humans. ] Just a bit biased I'd think. But that's alright, you're not wrong to be. Your kind managed to endear itself enough to us that we did the unthinkable. So, there must be something special to you all.

[spktr]

Unfortunately I have many bills. A couple fish depending on me too but... [Well, maybe they'll be alright with other!Steven taking over for a little bit. He hopes.

Steven definitely doesn't know the background for why this is an uncomfortable topic but he isn't clueless enough to not notice Thena is ready to not dive deeper there. They only just met, but Steven is not a complete wanker who would push on something like that. The optimism and hopefulness in her smile is infectious though and he can't help but offer one in turn.]

I hope so. We do seem to be quite the resilient folk, don't we? Been around a lot longer than expected too. [He chuckles, kicking his feet a bit where they're dangling so high up.] I'd be curious to learn more about your kind as well, you know. Preferably not when we're this high up in a tree...

[rememoror]

The beneits of being an Eternal, bills can't be sent to people that don't exactly exist. [ Well, some of them had bills, but they could easily get out of them if they wanted to. ] I'm sure the other you will take care of your fish. I assume if it's important to you then it's important to them. Since they are...you. A strange concept.

[ So very strange. And again a bit too odd for her to touch on too much. Instead she just keeps focusing on giving a smile and embracing the optimism that's wrapping around. ]

Exceptionally resilient and unpredictable. Not always in the best ways, but it at leads makes things interesting. [ She chuckled softly. ] Perhaps another time then. I'd be willing to answer any questions you might have, I'll admit I haven't spoken as much as I should about my kind to those from my own world. [ She felt a bit bad for that. ]

[spktr]

[An Eternal. It's the first he's heard of the term and he keeps it in mind to ask more, too curious for his own good, and for better or worse. If Thena and her companions have been watching over humans all of this time then surely they are good people? Though Steven can't help but wonder how much they've witnessed, if they've ever wished to interfere, or why they haven't...]

As long as you'd be comfortable speaking about it. I'd love to pester you with a thousand questions. I already have plenty. [He grins.]

You've made me feel better already about being here. I haven't even thought about the giant hatching eggs for at least five minutes.

[rememoror]

I think I'd be comfortable. Perhaps it might even be helpful to me. [ Since she's kept so much to herself for so very long, even here. Perhaps talking would be something of a relief for her.

She grins back. ]

I'm glad to hear that. Though I'm sure it'll be back on your mind now that you've thought of it.