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Entry tags:
March 2023 Test Drive Meme
March 2023 TDM
Introduction
Welcome to Folkmore's monthly Test Drive Meme! Please feel free to test drive any and all characters regardless of your intent to apply or whether you have an invite or not.
All TDMs are game canon. You can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Each TDM will provide a scenario for how characters arrive in-game that particular month.
Playing TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain canon items from homes especially weapons or other things they may have had on their person when they were pulled from their worlds! There will always be a prompt that provides some sort of "reward" to characters who complete certain tasks.
Current players are allowed to have in-game characters react to TDMs via the Network or make a log with the prompts. Current players are always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!
TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.
Content Warnings: 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.)
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.)
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!
no subject
Or being resurrected. He's still figuring out the exact timeline. His memories being tampered with have somewhat hindered that.
"I couldn't figure out why they'd make me a pigeon though." He again bobs his head in something of a nod. "But this isn't Asgard."
no subject
"Yeah, no. No Asgard. It's called Folkmore. Did you really think the big, mysterious fox who came to get you was associated with Asgard somehow?"
no subject
"Fylgja," he says, "Can be represented by various animals. It would reveal a person's true nature. A fox isn't unheard of for a fylgja of an untamed nature. They weren't very common though. Foxes weren't considered divine like other animals were."
He's done a lot of reading since meeting Thor. "But a magical messenger is a magical messenger. And I'm only familiar with one magical place."
A shudder works through his pigeon body, feathers ruffling as he fights the urge to mention Tahiti.
no subject
"Yeah, okay. Makes sense," he admits. "But this is a whole other universe. So whatever magical places or adjacent realms existed in your own universe stopped bein' relevant. We're on totally new turf now."
no subject
"My name's Phil Coulson," he says feathers puffing up briefly. "I'm from Earth. The Asgardians call it Midgard if that strikes you as more familiar."
He's not certain where this cat is from, if they're a local or not. It's hard to say in a magical world like this.
"It's a nice view up here. I've got a good lay of the land."
no subject
"I'm from Earth too. The kinda Earth that has a pretty weird relationship with Asgard ever since their prince- or former King or whatever the hell Thor is these days- started bickerin' with his little brother on our land."
And nowadays, they've got New Asgard to contend with too. The Asgardians are mostly keeping out of trouble, Marc thinks, but he stopped paying attention. He had better things to do with his limited time of awareness these past two years.
no subject
It sounds like this man is talking about the Battle of New York. Though, last Phil knew Thor was still a Prince of Asgard and Odin was around. Sif had said as much on her visit to Earth.
Had things changed?
"Because that's where I come from. That's what I'm part of. SHIELD. Well, what's left."
no subject
"Yeah. We've got Avengers. And non-Avengers actin' on their own." A beat, then he decides he'll need more clarity. "What year is it for you?"
'What's left of SHIELD' doesn't tell him much. That could be anywhere in the past ten years or so. If he has to explain the Snap to another person, he swears to god-
no subject
Phil has the sense that it's not right time. Or maybe it's better to say it's not the same time for the black cat as it is for him. He takes a deep breath and then lets it out slowly.
At the end of the breath there's a man sitting on the branch instead of a bird. He's rather plain in a somewhat rumpled black suit. He considers the cat next to him. "Pigeons aren't expressive enough for this conversation. Sorry."
no subject
A few seconds later, another grown man is sitting on the branch. Marc's very much in casual wear of shirt, jeans and open jacket. And a nice wristwatch, which was hellish to find around here.
"Yeah, I get it. The animal thing's not always the best choice," he says. "Just so you know, it's 2025 for me."
no subject
He takes a moment to let those questions settle because it's going to take longer than a conversation in a tree to get through them all.
"I'm glad to hear the Avengers are still around." That gives him hope. The initiative worked. The team saved the world and kept doing it. He is really tempted to ask about who's on the team. Barton. Romanoff. His agents. Are they still there?
Or is it better he doesn't know.
no subject
"I guess it depends how you'd label 'bein' around'. They're kinda all over the place, doin' their own thing. Not sure who's even still officially a member and who retired."
Thor fucked off into outer space, apparently? And Captain America is maybe on the moon? The only ones consistently in the news was Spider-Man, as far as Marc knows, but that knowledge comes from watching TV in the dead of night, so.
no subject
Phil's been quietly keeping eyes on them in his time. He knows Natasha was paired with Captain Rogers and they were running missions together. He knows she leaked everything SHIELD had. He hasn't been able to look recently.
Clint was still with SHIELD for the most part, running missions with different handlers. He hasn't been able to find him after everything went down but he knows Clint. He knows Natasha. They're somewhere safe.
Still, he ran that strike team for years. It'd be nice to know what they're up to in 2025.
no subject
"I think Hawkeye's still around? There's not exactly weekly press updates on what guys like him get up to, but I expect he's still kickin'. But Black Widow..." His fingers curl inward as he struggles to sort out his next words. "I hear she's around here. Just like Hawkeye. Haven't seen either of them myself, but they're probably not the kinda people to spot easily."
no subject
There's an ache in his chest. It's almost impossible to imagine the world without Natasha in it somewhere. Phil lets his head drop forward and for a few seconds he grieves the future. Then he takes a deep breath and looks up again.
"I will be interesting how the Avengers handle my presence. To them, I died before the Battle of New York." And no one's told them that he's actually alive. He hasn't told them. Protocol. Maybe that doesn't matter anymore. He'll have to save that for when he's back.
no subject
But Phil's got some interesting wording of his own, there. It causes Marc's brow to knit with mild confusion. "To them?"
Is this alluding to purposeful death faking, or some kind of space-time incident? Both are equally likely in their universe, these days.