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folkmore mod ([personal profile] folkie) wrote in [community profile] folkmeme2024-08-13 07:55 am
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August-September 2024 Test Drive Meme

August-September 2024 TDM
Introduction

[ TDM QuestionsJump to CommentsFull Navigation ]

This Test Drive meme is open to all.

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 and work like "mini-events". For new players and characters, you can choose to have your TDM thread be your introduction thread upon acceptance or start fresh. Current players are also allowed to have in-game characters post to the TDM so long as they mark their top levels ‘Current Character.’

TDM threads can be used for spoon spending at any time by characters accepted into the game.

Playing and interacting with the TDMs will allow characters to immediately obtain a canon item from home, 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 always encouraged to tag new people on the TDM!



🦊 New Star Children meet the Fox still in their worlds, and she brings them into the new realm of Folkmore. As you follow her, your body begins to change and new characteristics emerge. These may stay for a while, or perhaps they will hide away after. And during all of this, the Fox explains to you where you will be going: to Folkmore.

and then... you fall like a shooting star, falling to the land in a burst of starlight.


🦊 Experienced Star Children are already familiar with this time of the month. There are shooting stars all across the sky, and some fall to the land, which means the Fox has brought new arrivals. These newly arrived Star Children will face some tests, but Thirteen wants the more seasoned residents to participate as well.

Perhaps you follow the falling stars on your own, or perhaps the Fox simply teleports you there, but it appears you too will be part of this.

[ Prompt OnePrompt Two]

Scavengers Survive .
Content Warnings: Potential Wilderness Survival, Potential Death

New Star Children arrive in Amrita Academy, the largest school in Folkmore. They might arrive in the medical wing, or they could arrive in areas of the school that don't look like a school at all: forests with animals to hunt or gather, including for their medicinal properties; rocky crags with climbing routes; fields full of growing grains; meadows with sheep covered in soft wool; lakes and rivers with unusual denizens. It's like a miniature of Folkmore all in one school.

A fox with a clipped ear and a few scars greets each Star Child upon arrival. She explains that while things can be summoned with Lore, the best survivors learn to scavenge and to find what they need. New Star Children haven't earned much Lore yet, so that surely applies to them double. In fact, as befits a survival school, there are items that will help Star Children survive hidden all around and immediately outside the school. Star Children are directed to make a list on their Relic of everything they think they need to survive. Once made, the list cannot be changed. They will be more likely to find those items than others (though it will not be impossible).

Race, jog, or stroll around the expansive school in search of these items: clothes, bags, first aid kits, tents, survival supplies, etc. They might be harder to find than expected as they will be miniature and in little cubes aka survival squares (a misnomer). These cubes may be tucked away above, below, beside, or inside something. They also may float against a rock face or in the air among tree branches. The most likely locations are those densest in Lore. The longer Star Children explore, the more they will realize that these cubes are best and most easily obtained by working together. In fact, they will try to dodge and avoid the grip of a Star Child more than ten feet away from any other Star Child. Perhaps that's because two Star Children interacting are creating Lore and a Lore dense location? Once two Star Children touch the cube at the same time, the cube will disappear, and the item inside will grow to full size. Congratulations on being one step closer to survival. Remember to share.

Come mid-September, few cubes will remain inside the school. Star Children will have to check the perimeter of the school to find more survival squares. That task grows exponentially harder as the cubes are in the molasses-thick moat of concentrated Lore surrounding the school. Should anyone dip their spoon in the moat, in the Lorasses if you will, they will find that it tastes sweet, a rich spicy sweetness. Amazing! Less amazing? It is impossible to get past the moat of Lorasses. No matter how strong a swimmer or oarsman, it is impossible to make headway through or atop the Lorasses. Anyone attempting to fly across the moat will find themselves slapped by a giant sticky slappy hand rising like a goliath from the depths with perfect aim. Star Children can find themselves slapped anywhere from the shore to the center of the school. Star Children are free to get creative with ways to dig the survival squares out of the Lorasses, but beware! They'll have difficulty freeing themselves on their own from the sticky substance, should they fall in.

Since Star Children are likely to find themselves in sticky situations quite literally, they may be pleased to know that Amrita Academy has showers available for use. Unfortunately, due to one student's experiment, the shampoo is all made of beer. That's right, beer. It's good for one's hair! Or so the study should demonstrate. Be sure to fill out a feedback card outside the locker rooms.

  • All new Star Children arrive in Amrita Academy.
  • Star Children are greeted by a fox who prompts them to write a list of what they need to survive. These lists cannot be changed once made.
  • Star Children search for tiny cubes with survival supplies, especially ones on their lists.
  • Star Children must work together to catch & open the cubes.
  • Come mid-September, Amrita Academy is surrounded by a Lore-rich molasses moat—Lorasses. Thou shalt not pass.
  • Once the moat arrives, most cubes are in the moat. Shower to get clean afterward with beer for shampoo.
This is Our Get Along Shirt .
Content Warnings: Forced Close Contact, Coerced Behavior

It can be stressful to arrive in a new place among strangers and strange things. It can be even more stressful, sometimes, to be among people one knows. The fact remains that in Folkmore, no one is an island. The Shattered Spoon Shrine is a testament to that. Interact or perish. Those interactions usually don't even have to be positive. An emotionally charged argument generates Lore same as a touching reunion. However, Amrita's iteration has taken charge of Folkmore this month. She values cooperation and connection.

What does this mean for Star Children? It's time to get along.

When Star Children fight—physically, vocally, emotionally—they get stuck together in a magical t-shirt. This plain white t-shirt has 'This is our get along shirt' written on it on both sides, one in each Star Child's handwriting. (If a Star Child does not have handwriting, Thirteen will invent a handwriting she feels best represents them). The shirt works exactly as written on the tin. Until the two Star Children can get along, they will be stuck together in the shirt. Getting along can look a few different ways. It could be working through the reason they were fighting. It could be cooperating to accomplish something else. It could be helping someone else together. It could be large or small. Somehow, Star Children will have to get along to accomplish something.

The shirt will disappear, leaving them standing next to each other, only to reappear duplicated in each of their hands, perfectly sized to fit each individual. Should they so choose, either can be used for a repeat performance, with both of them trapped inside again. While the same condition will apply—they must get along to get out of the shirt—the shirt will now make it easier for them to work it out. Note: only the two people who originally wore the shirt can put it back on. No one else can wear these shirts.

One time only, a Star Child's cooperative escape will have an additional prize: their souvenir t-shirt will be wrapped around an item from either their home universe or their partner's. That's right, getting along can get a Star Child something from another universe.

  • When Star Children get in a fight of any kind, not just physical, they get stuck together in a magical t-shirt.
  • The shirt says “This is our get along shirt” front and back in characters’ own handwriting (or imagined handwriting).
  • As written on the tin, Star Children are stuck until they figure out how to get along
  • When they separate, both partners will get a copy of the t-shirt that fits them. They can choose to get back into said t-shirt together to figure out how to get along easier in the future.
  • One time only, Star Children receive an item from their home universe or their partner’s.
equilateralmuse: (grin)

[personal profile] equilateralmuse 2024-08-16 08:06 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, the fact that people can just walk in--let alone the fact someone chose too--is both interesting and a little bit hilarious. But as much as he should really figure this place out, he'll simply file it away for now, partly because he's still in a mood.

"'Playing along' is for suckers and rubes," he points out, complete with finger quotes at the beginning.

"But just walking out the front door? WOW, I never would have thought of that." Bill shrugs and makes a point of smacking his forehead.

"You ought to try it. Go on, I dare you," he adds, flashing the witch a distressingly broad grin. "I'll be watching."
manga_goddess_skuld: (Examining the frame)

Scavengers Survive (B)

[personal profile] manga_goddess_skuld 2024-08-16 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
The teenaged girl he asked didn't seem like she'd been paying much attention. First she'd been distracted by her new wings, seeming near tears over them. But then once they'd been told their tasks she had plopped herself down on the ground and started fiddling with something.

She looked up at his question though, her list on the ground beside her. "I think so," she said. "But we'll know for sure as soon as I'm done building this," she held up what she had been working on. Not that she had much yet. So far just a sphere that had mechanical connectors coming out of what was probably meant to be the bottom of those sensors along the curve were meant to represent eyes... Whatever it was she was building, it sure looked like some sort of miniature robot.
manga_goddess_skuld: (Examining the frame)

Skuld, Goddess Second Class, Type 1 | Aa! Megamisama/Oh! My Goddess! | Legand

[personal profile] manga_goddess_skuld 2024-08-16 09:25 am (UTC)(link)
Scavengers Survive - Arrival

Someone wasn't paying as much attention as she should be to the welcome spiel. She had touched down on the ground lightly, like one who had practiced dropping from a height, landing first on the toes of one foot, then the flat of that foot, before lowering her other foot. But her attention hadn't been on her landing either. It had been... on her wings. She now had glorious white feathered wings. Familiar wings.

A tear ran from her eye, down the emblem on her cheek, to fall onto the ground as one hand reached for the feathers, and the other for the small necklace she wore that looked like an egg.

"Nobel Scarlet?" she asked in a trembling whisper. But it wasn't, she could tell it wasn't. Besides, Scarlet's wings were never quite so large or protective. She'd seen wings like this before, however.

"Holy Bell," she whispered. She waited, as if expecting an answer. But none came. She turned, trying to twist to look behind herself, which twitched the feathers out of her hand.

"Hey!" she protested, trying to look at where the wings were coming out of her back. "Okay, you had your joke, enough teasing me now!" she said, getting upset.


Scavengers Survive - List Making
Once she'd calmed down and stopped trying to figure out her wings, she sat to make her list. She put down the things that mattered most, that she thought she most needed for survival.

She looked about thirteen and her list might well seem to confirm that for most anyone who looked at it.
Ice Cream
Moon Rock Bracelet
Banpei
Sigel
Tool box
mechanical parts
More ice cream
ice cream maker
Oh, I should make an ice cream maker attachment for Banpei!
Note to self, less omph on rocket punches for Sigil.
Ice cream scoop
Phone
TV
TV remote
Bicycle
I really should make a gyroscope for that
maybe a motor.
Keiichi better pick up my manga
Can I get manga here?
Manga.
Oh! Recordings of my favorite shows!
Jenga
Deck of playing cards


Not only did her list seem to have little that was practical, and contained somethings that made no sense at all, but there were places where she clearly forgot that she was making a list and started making notes as she chewed on her stylus. Someone might want to ask her about her list before it is too late....

Scavengers Survive - Searching
Well, time to start looking. Her best bet was to check water. No one else was likely to have looked for things in the middle of bodies of water yet! She had an advantage there! "Alright! I can do this! I can find more than anyone and win!"

She might have lost track of the actual task. In some ways she was far more like her big sister Urd than she cared to admit.


Scavengers Survive - Searching....ish
Someone ran out of patience pretty quickly. Her method of searching had been... interesting. And had all but guaranteed that she would fail, since she was teleporting from one bit of water to another, always staying away from other people. Which meant that the items had been staying away from here.

Well, there was more than one way to debug a program. If finding and catching things on her own was too tough there was a tried and true solution at her fingertips.

Sadly it wasn't "working together". That wasn't her instinct. No, Skuld, Goddess that she was, decided that when things get tough the smart get inventing. So she was sitting on the grass with any parts she could find - since she was willing to repurpose things no one was using that weren't running away from her, like say... someone's computer, a lawn mower, that sprinkler system.... And so she was working on building a small robot. Well, small where small meant he'd be a little bit shorter than her when she was done.

Because that was clearly the answer. If the task was too hard or too boring, build a robot to do it for her.

Scavengers Survive - Sticky sweet
She couldn't help herself, it smelled so yummy. So she had to go to the edge and taste it. So she had grabbed a scrap of metal and used it as a scoop. Her eyes lit up as she tasted it. "OH! Someone get me some vanilla ice cream! This will go perfect as a topping!"

neverdisappointed: (pic#16217836)

[personal profile] neverdisappointed 2024-08-16 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
... he hadn't known. Peter had really thought he'd killed someone with his bare hands. MJ can feel a suffocating pressure on her chest as she wondered how long he'd lived with that notion, but she swallows around the emotion lodging into her throat and keeps the question back. Whether it had been years or mere moments doesn't matter. He knows better now.

Instead, she tries to focus on what he's actually saying; they can sort through their respective feelings together, once they have all the facts and can let catharsis do its thing. Shaking her head, she murmurs, "I don't understand. What do yo mean, yanked around-...? Is it because of the spell?"

Right, no, she's jumping ahead, and that sorcerer has cast enough spells that she'll need to clarify which one she means or else Peter's just going to assume she's referring to something else entirely. "After the whole Osborn thing, you went to talk to Strange. I don't know what you said, but it looked like the sky was breaking and he was just barely holding it all together. When you came back to me and Ned, you told us...."

Thinking about that conversation still hurts, because she'd been so relieved to see that he'd ended up okay, only to be horrified by what he'd told them next. It's a wound just as fresh as the one to her temple, though significantly more painful. It's okay now, though. Either the spell messed up or it's over, and she knows who Peter is and they can move on once they find their way back home.

Taking a deep breath, she explained, "You told us that the only way to fix things was for everyone to forget about you. And that that was what Strange was going to do. We'd just all... forget that you existed." She catches her vision wavering a bit the way it had when he'd first told her, and she offers him a tight, unblinking smile and a dry laugh as she attempts to hold the tears back. "I have no idea how you thought that was going to fix anything, but if you'd been bounced around the multiverse without anyone noticing, maybe you saw something the rest of us didn't."
fuzhuan: (pic#17155316)

[personal profile] fuzhuan 2024-08-16 03:53 pm (UTC)(link)
"Mm! Talismans!" With a raised hand he gives a few sturdy taps to his own chest, where said talismans are safely nestled within.

Standing around is unlikely to achieve them anything so he reaches out, giving a couple taps to the young man's shoulder and ushering him to follow, deeper into the forest.

"So, what should we look for first?" Weapons? Firewood? Something unique and interesting? "Oh— And should we get separated and you need assistance, you only need to call for me, Wei Wuxian! Just yell really loudly, I'll find you!"
auderes: (pic#17340903)

oh hi there

[personal profile] auderes 2024-08-16 04:07 pm (UTC)(link)
As long as it doesn't turn into the Hunger Games out here, I think we'll be alright.

[ Dick's doing his best not to accidentally sneak up on anyone he wouldn't blame people for being on edge, especially since they've been abruptly thrown into a situation that's pretty much tailor made to inspire at least a little paranoia. So maybe it's not a great idea to joke about things getting violent, but he's trying to lighten the mood when he can, it tends to make things go a lot smoother while also making it easier to scope out potential threats, or situations where some intervention might be needed.

He's trying to look casual, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets to take the edge off what could be an imposing build, hair ruffled from a recent foray into some brush for a cube trying to tumble away from him. ]


Who's Ned?
curtails: (pic#14776246)

[personal profile] curtails 2024-08-16 04:09 pm (UTC)(link)
There had been the annoying feeling ever since he'd met this stranger, something oddly familiar although there was no resemblance. And he'd almost, almost been willing to chalk it up to his own paranoia after everything.

And then that name left his lips and his own entire demeanor shifted, his expression turning dark and angry. Unarmed, but he's still able to fight, even without his preferred weapons.

"...That's not a name you want to claim if you have any sense of self preservation."
neverdisappointed: (pic#17254977)

why hello! what a pleasant surprise!

[personal profile] neverdisappointed 2024-08-16 04:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[Look, regardless of how he opts to approach her, the fact of the matter is that he's still a complete stranger to her and she's just been abducted by a fox. Paranoia is sort of her go-to even under much more normal circumstances.

So when she whirls around and sees someone she doesn't recognize speaking to her, her brain immediately goes into overdrive as she rakes her gaze over him to assess him. About her height but nowhere near as slim. Apparently trying to look like he's not as well-built as he actually is. He could be pointedly trying not to intimidate her because he doesn't want to scare her, or because he wants to catch her off-guard. Because absolutely anyone can be a crazed supervillain, no matter how well-meaning they look at first (thanks for that lesson, Mysterio and every politician ever!).

Guarded as ever, she still opts to tentatively engage him, just in case he knows something about their situation that she doesn't.]


A friend. Who are you?

[Other than someone she hopes would be on her side if this scenario does end up bearing any similarities to the Hunger Games.]
illicitly: (incoming)

threadjack with permission!

[personal profile] illicitly 2024-08-16 05:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Nie Huaisang is lost and overwhelmed and he's about to become everyone else's problem.

He's now sporting a new pair of fluffy, silvery-grey feathered wings and luminous green eyes as opposed to their typical doelike brown as he wanders about the school ground, at a loss of what to actually do with himself. He doesn't know the first thing about survival and something about this world feels so intrinsically weird and unsettling to him in ways he can't quite pinpoint much less articulate and explain.

He lets out a joyful cry when he spots Jiang Cheng, looking grumpy and as ready to murder someone in a violent rage as ever and dashes toward him, arms waving excitedly. As he approaches, seemingly oblivious to any tensions in the air between Jiang Cheng and the stranger, he crashes into the space between them in a haphazard blur of long, dark hair, dark green silk, and soft feathers. Despite his rather chaotic entrance, Nie Huaisang quickly turns to the face the stranger he'd overheard calling himself Wei Wuxian, eyes shifting to a calm, tranquil green as he studies him cautiously.

"Oh, hello," is all Nie Huaisang says, tone carefully neutral for the moment.

[OOC: Still ironing out his exact canonpoint but probably sometime between his brother's death and the start of the novel!]
Edited 2024-08-16 17:20 (UTC)
fuzhuan: (pic#17215988)

hey frienddd

[personal profile] fuzhuan 2024-08-16 06:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Self preservation? Ah. So this must be someone from his own world, which would account for the air of familiarity that has resided around the uppity stranger ever since their meeting. And if that is the case, no wonder he reacted to the name with such vilification! Wei Wuxian, Yiling Patriarch, founder of all things bad and cruel and evil, yes yes he's heard it all before.

He opens his mouth to speak, to ask how the stranger knows of the name precisely (and to ask if he hangs out in Yunmeng often, because damn, dealing with such a temperamental nature is like being face to face with Jiang Cheng again) but the opportunity never arises as a second stranger appears before them, greeting his presumed friend with vigor, and Wei Wuxian is happy to take a step back, or several, and let them have their space. All the better to be out of striking range, anyway.

"....Hello?" A hand rises to give a half-assed wave, marred by hesitation as he wonders to himself whether this is going to become a Big Deal or not. "The two of you are friends, I take it?"
curtails: (Default)

Re: hey frienddd

[personal profile] curtails 2024-08-16 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nie Huaisang?!" Distraction in the form of a green clad idiot is at least enough to pull his attention away from the stranger claiming to be Wei Wuxian

"..Friends is a strong word. We're familiar with each other." He answers, his expression still not thrilled, but Huaisang has at least some of his attention now.
illicitly: (make it out alive)

hello friend! :D

[personal profile] illicitly 2024-08-16 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
"Wh-What do you mean we're not friends? You wound me, Jiang-xiong! Wound me, I say! How cruel... Of course, we're friends..."

In the absence of his fan, spreading and fluttering his wings in agitation will have to do instead, eyes darkening a little to dictate a slight mood shift. If one of those wings happen to outstretching to serve as a makeshift barrier to obstruct Jiang Cheng's line of vision and potential attack on the stranger calling himself Wei Wuxian, well, surely that's just an accident or coincidence.

Without moving his wing out of the way, Nie Huaisang turns to stranger, holding up his Relic, a forest green number with a delicate bamboo print with a fan charm dangling from it in his hand. His eyes are gradually lightening back to their previous hue.

"Have you been here very long? I don't suppose you could explain what this is? Madam Fox said we were supposed to write our survival lists in it but I have no idea how."
Edited 2024-08-16 19:23 (UTC)
fuzhuan: (pic#17155315)

:D

[personal profile] fuzhuan 2024-08-16 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Nie Huaisang? Jiang-xiong? Just what on folkmore is going on here? It's obvious now who the pair are, with names to attach to both of them and their familiar mannerisms, and yet it isn't because they aren't, not in the way Wei Wuxian has know them.

Then again, the crafty fox running this place has all sorts of tricks up her metaphorical sleeve.

"Ah.. I would say it's been a month?" Digging into his robes he pulls out a Relic of his own, black and accented with red because of of course it is, with a little lotus charm hanging from it which gets promptly obscured before Jiang-xiong notices it.

"Should I teach you how to use it? This Relic has all sorts of handy tricks to it!" Far better to focus on that than the brewing storm he can feel in the air around them.

"I was honest in my offer to help hunt for supplies, even if.. we know each other?" Well that is certainly one way to put it. Stepping sideways to ensure that Huaisang's wing properly blocks Jiang Cheng's view, he chooses to address the former instead, far more likely to respond with civility rather than bloodshed.

"It isn't the first time that the fox brought in visitors from the same world, yet friends or even family didn't recognize one another, or share the same memories?"
3wingedangel: (Default)

Sticky Sweet

[personal profile] 3wingedangel 2024-08-16 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Sephiroth had caught sight of this strange person off and on during the adventure and had basically had a quiet "WTH" reaction. This, however, was a whole new level of WTH.

"... You're eating the Lore Molasses?"

Somehow he highly doubted it was intended as a food. And judging from how extremely sticky it was, he wondered if she might even accidentally get her mouth stuck shut.
illicitly: (my tongue is a weapon)

handwaving JC here with mun permission!

[personal profile] illicitly 2024-08-16 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Nie Huaisang can sense that Jiang Cheng's irate with him now, too, but he's developed some level of immunity to his old friend's foul temper after so many years. The important thing now is that Jiang Cheng is disengaging - stomping off in a huff, of course, and Nie Huaisang's sure he'll be paying for his intervention later. For the moment, however, a messy, violent outcome's been avoided and an opportunity to gather what's bound to be helpful information has presented itself.

"Really? This sort of thing's happened before? How peculiar... I wonder how common situations like this are here. I don't really know a whole lot about why I'm here but I have wings now and I've always wanted them so that's pretty nice! Not sure how to fly yet, though."

He pauses in his babbling to take a breath before continuing.

"But yes, please, teach me! I looked at it and couldn't figure out how it worked at all. And I was already having problems thinking up things to put on a list. I don't think Madam Fox is looking for answers like 'bodyguard', 'cook, or 'maid' on her test!"

Some things apparently never change with Nie Huaisang, no matter what age he is or where he's from.
soft_shelled: (371)

Donatello - Rise of the TMNT: Farewell - Undecided

[personal profile] soft_shelled 2024-08-17 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
[OOC: As a note, I'm playing Donatello after the events of the comic Farewell. The fandom census is that is takes place in 2024, for the present era, which would make him around 20 years old. It also ends with two pretty big spoilers. I will avoid mentioning said spoilers in my threads though unless you're okay with them/will mark for it in that case.]

Scavenging - Making a List
[One fox was fine, even if the first one wasn't too helpful, the second one telling him about Lore and survival and such was only a little better. It's taking everything in Donatello to not try to take the Relic apart, really what is stopping him is that he doesn't have any tools to do so.

So a list he shall make, just sitting down in the middle of whatever area he is in, Relic in hand and brow knitted in thought trying to recall things from almost six years ago and involving Todd.]


Scavenging - Cubes
I am not made for this at all.

[Donatello grumbles to himself, as he has taken to looking around the school grounds, as much as one could call them that, for supplies. Unaware that he should be looking for cubes, not actual... You know, food, water, or shelter. Of course, this means he might be, at any point, found trying to climb a tree. Badly. Actually climbing anything is done poorly on his part, he is not the most athletically inclined turtle, after all.

Also maybe getting annoyed by the cubes that seem to be darting out of his grasp? That's weird and he wants to get one dammit.]


Wildcard
[I can't think of anything for the get along shirts prompts, but am open to playing with it. Or really anything else.]
heyunderoos: (Contemplative/glance down/hmm)

[personal profile] heyunderoos 2024-08-17 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
Peter opens his mouth, then closes it. His teeth clicking together audibly as he takes in the information. Given what he remembers, everything did feel dire then. Dire enough to make a choice like that.

The weight of it just leaves Peter feeling, sick to his stomach. He got what he wanted in a way. A clean break from home, a way to leave his New York. He wanted to be sure he never risked MJ, Ned- anyone else he loves getting hurt again. This was just how it happened.

Looks like he got his wish.

Some wish that is. Knowing how it was going to hurt MJ given her reaction just makes it a sour taste in the back of his throat.

"That, definitely sounds like something I'd do." He answers with a grimace. "We both know I'm kind of a self sacrificial idiot, so, it's a choice I'd make if I was half convinced it would fix anything." He tries to joke weakly at the sight of her tears. It is more awareness than he usually had back home. A sense of insight about his own choices and behavior. He reaches out again to gently touch her cheek, unable to stop himself from trying to comfort her.

"Thank you for telling me." He starts a little uncertainly, "I-" He struggles for a moment, "This is a long story, but, I think we have time, right?" He didn't want to lose MJ again, even if he knew they wouldn't be what they were before.

"I guess, I'll start with, hey, the multiverse is really, real, which, you know by now, though, and- I got dragged into it, before Strange and everything that just happened. There are places like this that pull people out of their own worlds, and they kind of get lost."
neverdisappointed: (pic#17344878)

[personal profile] neverdisappointed 2024-08-17 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
When Peter touches her cheek, she closes her eyes and tilts her face into the touch, feeling the tears fall. She rarely cries, and never lets anyone see her cry if she can help it, but it's different with Peter. He's her safe space. And he should understand completely why the thought of forgetting his existence is utterly terrifying to her.

She nods slowly when he asks if they have time, even if it's entirely rhetorical. She'd always thought the concepts of alternate universes and time travel were nothing more than science fiction, but after the Avengers had apparently developed time travel to save the universe and she'd come face-to-face with two other versions of her boyfriend, she can't really refute that they potentially have all the time in the multiverse to figure things out.

Opening her eyes and still getting used to the fact that she needs to tilt her head up to look up at Peter, she listens to his explanation carefully before asking, "So... you're saying that this happens to you a lot? And you just never told me? How do you get back?"

Because there definitely needs to be a way to get back, since she'd never noticed Peter missing for any suspiciously long stretch of time. At least, not since learning about the Spider-Man thing; after that, any absence had been anything but suspicious, even if they'd seen each other practically daily since coming back from London.
betteroffred: (char7)

II. The Survival

[personal profile] betteroffred 2024-08-17 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Quattro hears the sound of something- someone?- moving through the underbrush at high speed before he feels an odd feeling of not-quite-pressure on his hard to define sixth sense. He's looking in the direction of the sound when a very large creature leaps into the small clearing Quattro has been searching.

The startled noise he makes isn't a scream, it's not even loud enough to be a shout, but it is completely involuntary. His reflexes also have him jumping backwards to put space between himself and whatever- whoever? - this is, his two pairs bright golden wings spreading out and the feathers hardening to metal.
]
heyunderoos: (Glance/Curious/talkative)

[personal profile] heyunderoos 2024-08-17 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
He draws his thumb gently against her cheek, trying to offer some assurance. All of this is, too much to really take in all at once. He reminds himself he needs... to not touch her as much. Not after this. It isn't fair to any of them. MJ doesn't deserve to feel like things won't change when they have.

"That's... kind of the problem, some places take you like in between points in time, and everything keeps moving forward with two of you existing at the same time." He knows it sounds like gibberish at best.

"It isn't a 'I didn't tell you' thing, as much as I didn't know kind of thing. Most of the time, you're not even really gone, nor can the you who left come back. It's-" He wrinkles his nose a little, "A lot."

He sighs softly, frowning openly. "It's been almost two years for me- maybe a bit more, being between places like this."
neverdisappointed: (pic#16217785)

[personal profile] neverdisappointed 2024-08-17 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
While she doesn't know it yet, it's probably for the best that MJ isn't a particularly tactile person. With as uprooted and uncertain as she currently feels, it's taking everything she has not to just bury her face in Peter's chest and let him hold her while he tries to explain his multiversal excursions that she's only just discovering. As it is, she does unconsciously move a little closer to him, though that's just because she's trying really hard to understand him. Yeah. That's it. Proximity increases understanding.

And also, she just feels a lot safer when she's close to Peter versus the alternative.

"I don't think I understood a single thing you just said," she tells him in no uncertain terms. "Please tell me there's a SparkNotes version of all of this in a local library."

Of course, there's one thing she did understand, even if she still hopes there's some kind of misunderstanding involved. "Two years? You've spent two years just... wandering around in places like this?"

Tactile or not, the thought of Peter spending two years without her, without Ned, without anything from home is enough to make MJ finally break, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. It feels weird, not just nestling her head on his shoulder thanks to this weird new height difference, but it's not like the pair of them aren't used to a little weirdness. "I'm sorry. I wish... I wish I'd found you earlier, in that case. Even if it doesn't really work that way."
thunderingcourage: (Tough love)

[personal profile] thunderingcourage 2024-08-17 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Makoto had been training at Agrona Academy for the last few weeks, but someone had told her a little bit about Amrita and so she'd decided to check it out. After all, having a few more things to plant and grow around the apartment wouldn't be bad, and she might find some good deals on a sewing kit or something.

She'd been looking around, not really taking the whole scavenger hunt very seriously when she saw a familiar face. Crossing her arms, she looked a little annoyed with him.]

About time you showed up.
fuzhuan: (pic#17129867)

jc pls (ok!!)

[personal profile] fuzhuan 2024-08-17 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Aiya..."

Wei Wuxian does not answer Huaisang at first, instead peering off into the direction his apparent (former?) shidi stormed off in, wondering if he is about to take out his frustrations on a poor, innocent tree. Ah well, better a tree than his face.

"Since you have wings, you're likely the same as me!" A moment of concentration, and plumes of something almost smoke-like begin to permeate the air surrounding his back as it morphs into something more tangible within seconds— a pair of feather-like wings, black as ink, which stretch out and flutter as he strikes a pose for better viewing, before they dissipate once more.

"I can call them out at will, you may be able to do that too? It isn't the same for everyone— but anyway, we can figure that out later! You need to make your list!"

Powering on his Relic he strolls forward until the two of them are side-by-side, ensuring that Huaisang can see his screen as he begins to demonstrate a step-by-step guide on how to access the list, and how to add to it.

"Nie Huaisang, Nie Huaisang, I'm telling you! These devices are so much better than having to write with ink and paper. You can even send letters to other people, and it will show up on their own Relic! You don't even need to get out of your seat!"

Oh, the wonders of technology! Wei Wuxian brings his own list into view, filled with mundane things like 'firewood' and 'bow and arrow' but also more interesting things such as Chenqing, Emperor's Smile, and... Lan Zhan?

"I can tell you now, that they won't give you anything such as a bodyguard or cook from their hidden cubes, because I've had Lan Zhan at the top of my list since yesterday, and rudely he is nowhere to be seen! When it comes to survival, what would be better than having our very own Hanguang-Jun at our side?" Bodyguard and patron. He pauses to let out a huff of annoyance, before continuing.

"I don't think it's a test in the common sense, but the way I see it, we can put anything we want on it as long as you can explain it's necessity!" Wei Wuxian taps the screen of his own list. "For instance! If I had Chenqing, it would allow me much better control in a fight! And if I had Emperor's Smile, that would make me happy! It is important to take care of the mind just as well as the body, right?"

Wei Wuxian leans in, giving the other a light nudge with his shoulder. See? Play the system.
dohaeris: (consider)

[personal profile] dohaeris 2024-08-17 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
[sansa had been hoping bloodraven might come by to teach her greenseeing ever since she saw him with bran through the portals in her previous game. being faced with a valyrian-looking man with an eyepatch, her eyes are immediately drawn his cheek––no birthmark. of course it could be someone from a different world entirely, but recent conversations on the network have put her in mind of aemond one-eye. she calmly withdraws her hand.

her purple-grey dress has dragonflies on it, not direwolves. it's difficult to mistake lady padding after her in a matching collar, but starks had not been known to keep direwolves as companions before her and her siblings.

it occurs to her that the tullys declared for the blacks before lord cregan marched south. she does have a needle case shaped like a small silver fish on the chatelaine clipped to her wide leather belt, along with the needle-end of her necklace. there's nothing to be done about it now.

she holds a sack that already seems very full. she has spent a lot of time thinking about survival and provisioned many dangerous excursions since leaving the vale.

she lifts her hand. a lady's courtesy is her armor.
]

I'm sure I can find another.

[she smiles coldly. she'd like very much to make a graceful exit, but she doubts it'll be that easy. besides––]

I have found two star children need to touch the boxes to release the enchantment, and I should be glad to help you retrieve your cloak.

[she tells herself he might not be who she thinks he is, and if he is, she's better off proving herself useful before leaving as quickly as possible, and besides, he can't possibly hate the starks as much as joffrey.]
Edited 2024-08-17 04:46 (UTC)
neonleon: art for me by <user name="katoptron" site="plurk"> | do not take (human - talking)

scavengers

[personal profile] neonleon 2024-08-17 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
It's been a weird month. Peter stuck in a sea-turtle form, Leo trying to just help with that. Hell, it's been a weird year since he lost his arm to the fae. Thank god his prosthetic metal arm works just as well in this human form, even if it's still taking some getting used to.

But scavenging, now that's some Todd Scouts shit. He's good at this. They all were good at this at some point, even if the last two hub worlds kind of softened them a bit. But Leo's looking at his own list and hears someone close by.

Ha. Bored teenage wizard, probably. But then hears 'Ned'. He knows a Ned, albeit secondhand. Peter had talked about Ned. He glances over, wondering, and sees her. While he's never seen a picture of MJ, Peter had talked about her a fair bit. Leo feels something tightening in his chest as he watches her, then glances back down to his own list again.

Calm. Be cool. Be so chill.

"More like an older woman wizard with a split personality problem, but yeah, pretty much."