Test Drive Meme | August-September 2016

[wearethecrystalmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to the Cosmographia Test Drive Meme! This is a place for you to test out any characters you've been considering for the game or just to splash around in the waters and see what's right for you. Give our infopages a glance over and use the prompts below as a jumping off point! Threads from prompt A and B can be made canon for the game so long as both parties agree to it! Prompts C and D, unfortunately, cannot, as they take their cues from events and Excursions already run in Cosmographia. In short - pick a character, write up a starter and have a blast!

PROMPT A - ARRIVAL

You don't remember getting in this hole but you definitely remember falling out of it. You go tumbling out into the heart of a cavernous temple. Sparkling Gems suspended in bubbles float lazily about the ceiling, just a little out of reach. There's a greenish glow cast over the room by the huge crystal looming before you in the center. It's... curiously heart shaped, now you think to take a closer look at it. If you're curious enough to touch it, you'll get some basic answers about your situation... but then again, there's no guarantee you're just going to walk up to a giant weird thing in the middle of a giant weird room and touch it, right? Why not take a look around and see for yourself what kind of place this is? Perhaps you'll run into someone in the same predicament as you, or perhaps you'll run into someone who can help explain why there's a weird rock now affixed to your body?

PROMPT B - THE FARMER'S MARKET

It's Thursday in Waverly Bay, and that can mean only one thing: the weekly Farmer's Market is here again! The town plaza is all abuzz with activity today. Stalls not only from farmers on the outskirts of town but from crafty residents with interesting homemade items to sell, and businesses looking to attract the Market's crowd are all here! The weather's a little chilly but it's still an excellent place to spend the day, so long as you've got some money to spend. Are you shopping for a good deal on vegetables for dinner? Or perhaps you're getting a feel for the residents, having recently arrived? Or, perhaps, are you an industrious gem who's looking to set up shop? Either way, you're bound to run into somebody in this bustling, busy place.

PROMPT C - INVESTIGATION

Now that you're starting to get a hold of your powers, you've been sent through the warp pads on some kind of mission to the Gem Observatory. From the sounds of things, there's an ancient relic here somewhere that could serve useful for the Gems in the Temple and someone has to go out and find it. ... the only problem is that you're not exactly sure where you should start looking in this place. And on top of that, it's a complete mess. Junk and debris and books and papers everywhere with no clue where this relic could be. You're going to have to do some serious digging to find this thing. And on top of that, you might find that when you try to go back the warp pad you took here has managed to stop working in between your arrival and now. Maybe something went wrong back in the control room? Or the pad itself needs fixing? You'll have to poke around in the guts of the machine to try and figure this one out.

PROMPT D - COMBAT

Uh-oh! Looks like you've run into a monster! These critters can pop up anywhere around Waverly Bay so it doesn't really matter where you were before or what you were up to. All you know now is that you need to buckle down and beat this thing! Giant Mothwing - With broad wings that shed scales on the wind, this corrupted Gem bears a striking resemblance to a large moth or butterfly. The body between its wings is no beauty, though - it usually stays rolled into a wheel-like spiral to protect its flat, pinkish gem, but when it uncurls to attack it looks more like a worm with teeth. Yikes! Loud noises make it lash out in agitation. Even when it's not attacking, it flies around restlessly, shedding sharp, glasslike scales that can leave nasty cuts as they whiz past. It'll be hard to get close to it unless it's lured down out of the sky. Chameleoid - The shape of this monster's body is more like a tardigrade than a lizard, but its camouflage ability and long, sticky tongue are worth commemorating. The Chameleoid can flatten and expand its body, and change the color and texture of its outer hide to blend in seamlessly with its surroundings, and it uses this ability to duck in and out of battle. Keep an eye out for suspicious movement when it vanishes from view. The Chameleoid shoots out its 20-foot-long tongue to disarm, trip up, and gross out Gems, but it's not averse to eating any small objects it might grab. The inside of its mouth looks softer than the rest of it, so maybe you can turn that to your advantage...? Strawberry Spider - Though its long, spindly legs holding it off the ground make it look like a spider, this monster is actually mostly made up of plant material. Trees and strawberry plants are rooted in the corrupted Gem's featureless, geometric body, forming woody legs and blanketing the monster in foliage and strawberries. Its aroma may be sweet, but the Strawberry Spider is ruthless and very, very perturbed. It stands 15 feet tall and 25 feet wide, and its skittering feet move fast to stomp on attacking Gems. Thinking of cutting off a leg? Try it, and hundreds of strawberry runners will immediately sprout from the stump to ensnare you. The strawberries are hungry, and they've got a "taste for blood"... Damaging the plants living on it won't actually hurt the corrupted Gem, and they grow back fast. This will be a tough monster to defeat. Wildcard Option - Make your own! You know by now that you've got some special powers just from being a Gem. Apparently, from what little you've heard, you can shapeshift into things and pull a weapon from your gem, and you have some sort of unique special power. But maybe you don't know what it is yet, or you're still not used to using it? Guess you're going to have to learn on the job. Don't leave your fellow gems hanging if you see them fighting one of these little guys either! You're going to need each other to take 'em down!

PROMPT E - WILDCARD

Not into any of these prompts? Thought of something more fun? Go for it!

Comments

[espigeonage]

He is a little worried about his feathers, but not too badly. Since coming here and turning into a rock piloting a robot version of his body, or whatever happened, they seem to rebound from stains and minor damage more than they used to, without needing as much fuss. Still, it's good to have them admired.

"You're so kind, Madhuri! My name is Julien and now I'll have to bring something tasty too." He turns his head so that both big blue eyes are visible, and winks. "Maybe cucumber sandwiches, or buns. Gotta preference?"

It's been a long time since he was at a tea party and, realizing that, he misses them.

[songbird_slayer]

"My preference is food, so the sky's the limit!" She was one of a nomadic people, and to turn down any sort of food typically meant starving. But with a good-natured chuckle, she wondered what sorts of foods a talking pigeon would enjoy.

Hmmm... sesame cakes?

"This place tends to slow down as the sun sets for bed, and I will be here until then. You know where to find me, Julien."

[espigeonage]

His tail trembles, a birdy 'laugh'. "Ah, a woman after my own heart."

Julien glances sunwards. "Of course! That ought to give me time to get ready." He's been a cook in another world. Making things from scratch for someone is fun, provided he doesn't have to do it for a living. ...of course, he also doesn't have a kitchen right now. Buying will have to do.

[songbird_slayer]

The smile brightened. "My, my... then you best be careful, or I may one day claim it."

With that, she sat up straighter and took this moment to observe a pocket watch placed on the stand for her own reference.

"Ah, it looks like it's about time for me to begin a new brew, too. I like to keep the curious folk guessing."

[espigeonage]

Now his tail shook back and forth and some of the feathers on his face puffed. "Well! I wish I could come up with a clever remark right now." He'd had one but it was probably a little too awkward for someone he's just met.

"All right then! Until later, Madhuri my friend!" Turning his head to look back out of one eye he backed up and turned away, and with a flick of his tail - waving, sort of, without knocking anyone over like he'd do if he waved a wing - he was off through the crowd, humming an old pop song.

He'll be back when it's darker down on the land, but the sky is still light, his pupils flared large and a pannier on his back. The issue with bird eyes was that his dark vision was just not as good as a human's, but he could manage somewhat in areas he'd visited already, and it wasn't full night yet.