returnjourneymemes | TEST DRIVE 006

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test drive meme

TEST DRIVE 006

RETURN JOURNEY: TEST DRIVE 006

Welcome to the Return Journey's test drive meme! We appreciate your interest. Our TDM features a small sample of events your character might encounter in game, which you're free to embellish or improvise with your own ideas as desired. Don't worry if you haven't read everything yet; while we recommend skimming our FAQ for relevant questions, critical information should be contained or linked within the prompts themselves!

TDM threads can be used as samples for applications. Players can mutually keep threads as game canon after being accepted into the game, though threads featuring non-canon ports or events may need to be adjusted.

We suggest putting your character's name, canon, and potential role (warden or inmate) as the subject. If you're not sure which role you want to choose, feel free to try your hand at both!

If you have any questions about the TDM, please ask here.

1. Welcome Aboard!

Welcome aboard the SFS Peregrine, a ship in the Admiralty's Transformative and Penal Reparation Fleet. It is presently circling the outer perimeter of the Oos Ring Galaxy.

Wardens have been approached personally by the Navarch with a job offer: Come aboard the SFS Peregrine to assist in the redemption of an inmate, and receive a miracle known as a windfall as payment. Even if you don't ask as many questions as you should, every warden will be treated to a short Warden Orientation video explaining their expected duties and conduct.

Inmates have died and been placed aboard the SFS Peregrine as candidates for reformation. You may have come willingly, offered a choice between death or redemption, or you may have been collected against your will. Inmates are also treated to an Inmate Orientation; you'll find you have less privileges than a warden, but more motivation for...latitude. Violence? Chaos? Bribery? Blackmail? Well, no one said the path to redemption was without a few bumps along the way.

Given staff shortages, some wardens may be asked for a favor. Rather than leaving directly for the Peregrine, you've been asked to pick up an inmate from the limbo between death and redemption. During this mission, wardens will have clearance to enter a snapshot of sorts, where the inmate died (so devoid of other living beings). You either have to talk them into willingly coming along...or bring their unconscious, fresh-from-death not-corpse with you in the Avro provided. Better hope they don't wake up on the way!

Inmates, in this case, you'll be presented with the choice of death or redemption from a warden rather than the Navarch. Or possibly not provided with a choice at all, if death has rendered you unconscious. Good luck when you awaken to find yourself in a small ship, with someone you've never met. Try not to cause any trouble.

2. Pairings

Pairings are a critical aspect of the dynamic between warden and inmate. While interactions between wardens and inmates are not restricted to those in pairings, this relationship is a bit more...inescapable. Inmates test the limits of a warden, whether they take a more typical or unusual approach to matters; likewise, wardens learn what makes an inmate tick (and hopefully cooperate). Chances are, your values will clash.

A pairing of any sort is as varied as the individuals involved in them. And today, courtesy of the Navarch's monthly announcement, you and your sorry partner have been paired. Temporary or permanent, with a warden for an inmate or an inmate for a warden, it's your first day together — out of at least a month, so good luck setting some ground rules and figuring out each other's breaking points.

3. Dorm Life

Hey, inmates! Ever gone to summer camp? Had a sibling? If so, you might see where this is going. If not, welcome to your first experience with shared sleeping arrangements!

The dorms are lined with bunks, though maybe they're better described as pods: futuresque capsules stacked two high, with sleek white paneling and cool blue LED lightning. Each bunk can be closed off with a sliding door privacy and boasts a bladeless fan for temperature control. Bedding is adequate. If such modest conditions do not appeal to you: consider not committing crimes against other people.

And just like with siblings or summer camp, you don't get a say in who your bunkmate is. Maybe you'll luck out and get a light sleeper who doesn't toss and turn in the night. Maybe you won't, and you'll end up with someone who will kill you if you snore. Whoever you get is who you're stuck with until further notice!

Wardens get much more hospitable quarters, but they may want to keep an eye out on the inmate dorms. Just in case an inmate does try to kill their bunkmate.

4. The Peregrine

The Peregrine's layout and protocols have been designed with its intended passengers in mind, who are primarily Earth humanoids and inclined towards certain social and cultural practices. If you're wondering why you are on a ship of Earth humanoids despite not being one yourself, please understand that all ships in the Admiralty have a population capacity. At times it may be necessary to assign other species to a ship of this type, based on availability.

As a warden, you have full run of the ship map. Inmates...less so, but that's nothing a little creativity can't fix, right? Just remember, if a warden catches an inmate somewhere that inmate shouldn't be, it falls on the warden to handle the matter. And if the warden turns a blind eye...well, let's hope neither of you get caught. While it won't result in anything as extreme as a demotion, wardens can expect to get a stern dressing down; inmates, meanwhile, will be reprimanded by the warden who found them.

5. Networking

Now that you've powered on your CommLink for the first time and sat through the short tutorial and appropriate orientation, you're ready to explore the wonders of messaging. Video, audio, or text, the world is your oyster and you surely have opinions on it.

There is no anonymous option and IDs must be some variation of your name. (IC, characters will have to try their luck and see what the communicator will or won't accept when they register; OOC, it's up to players to decide what name to use if the character has multiple names or aliases.)

Wardens have access to a group network filter, something that inmates lack, and can track inmates throughout the ship with their CommLink. Inmates, best avoid getting your device confiscated or monitored.

6. Wildcard

If it's in our game pages, you can use it as a prompt! The sky's the limit.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He gives Loki a look. It should be (should be) familiar: kind of just acceptingly tired and Sick Of Your Shit already.]

I can't eat in peace with you around, can I?

[Which is to say, he's absurdly happy to see Loki and will not show it. Somehow it doesn't even cross his mind that this could be another variant.]

[Well, that's quite a personal thing to say when they haven't even been properly introduced. He's run into this sort of thing before, although there's a much simpler explanation for the man's attitude:

This guy is just an asshole.

Loki narrows his eyes. He was going to eat alone, or perhaps with his inmate, but whether the man meant this as a challenge or not, he's taking it as one. He drops his tray on the table across from the man and sits, flashing a big fake smile.]

Not anymore, you can't. [He lifts his fork and gestures with it before beginning to eat.] How long have you been here, then?

Not long. Practically just got here. [If he seems just a touch more protective of his salad, clearly that's just because of the assholishness and not from past experience or anything.] Didn't know you were here, for instance, so that's saying something.

[Aha. So he does know him. Or some version of him, anyway. Interesting.

The right thing to do would be to save the man the embarrassment he himself felt when he'd assumed the Barnes on this ship was the same as the one he'd known on the previous ship. He should explain the confusion. But then he'd lose out on what information the man might impart while he assumes that he's speaking to the Loki he knows, and, well. He's only mostly reformed when it comes to the lying.]

I should say so. I'm rather popular around here.

[Is that one a lie? He actually isn't sure.

He eyes the man, coming to a quick conclusion.]

You're here as a warden, correct?

[It all sounds about right, that Loki would make that assertion. But then the question is...not right. Even as a rhetorical, that shouldn't be in question. Mobius leans back with a furrow to his brow.]

And you're here as an inmate, right?

[Sure. He's made improvements. Leaps and bounds. But not enough to trust him with reforming other people.]

[Well that's interesting. Someone who should obviously be a warden, but seems to be on relatively good terms with Loki-- who he assumes would be an inmate. Another ally of an ally of Thor's, perhaps?]

No, I'm afraid I've already done my time, so to speak. I came here for a windfall. And to share that hard-won wisdom I learned through my own journey to graduation.

[He takes a bite of his food, smirks over at the man.]

Does that surprise you?

[There is a pause as Mobius simply looks at Loki, taking him in, staring intensely with a tilt of his head. And then:] ...It shouldn't. [He says it with a sigh, leaning back. Not that he's disappointed to meet a Loki, of course, but disappointed that it's not his Loki.

(Hm. When did he become his Loki? Best not to examine it right now.)]

You don't have a clue who I am, do you.

[Loki watches as realization sparks in the man's eyes. Normally, this would give him a little thrill of triumph, or at least amusement. A prank well-done. But there's something in how the man just deflates that has him uneasy.

This smile doesn't reach his eyes at all, radiating the discomfort he's suddenly feeling.]

I'm afraid not. But you know me, don't you? A version of me, anyway.

I know a variant of you, yeah. [Present tense. He doesn't know what happened to Loki or Sylvie, but he sure knows something happened.]

So. [A little more chipper.] What's your story? Normally I'd have a file laid out in front of me, but if you're not my inmate, I've got nothing to go on except that you're a Loki. A Loki who managed to be a warden.

[How presumptuous, assuming that he would have been Loki's warden if he'd been an inmate. But at least it's only kind of strange to be referred to as a Loki. He's not as thrown as he could have been.]

Goodness, asking for my entire life story and you haven't even given me your name. You'll have to tighten that up before you get your first temporary inmate. Or else they might think you're rude.

I've been called much worse than rude.

[But, okay, fine, fair. He offers up a hand across the table to shake that he in no way expects will be taken.] Mobius. Formerly of the Time Variance Authority, which you probably have never heard of. I'm gonna warn you now that I probably know a lot of intricate details of your life and your psyche that might freak you out.

[So fair warning. It might come off as even more presumptuous, but that's only because Loki doesn't know what Mobius knows yet.]

[Loki's eyebrows fly into his hairline.]

I have heard of it, actually. From an older version of myself who was banished to the end of time because of you people. But it sounds like you already know that.

[He knows enough to warrant a warning. Loki's grip tightens on his utensil.]

Is that why you're here? Time doesn't exactly apply here, you'll notice. It would be a shame for you to waste your efforts.

[Okay. Well. He wasn't expecting a handshake, no, but he also wasn't expecting that little revelation. He lowers his hand to the table.]

You met him? Are there more of you running around here? [Which is...important, yes, but maybe not as important as making sure this Loki doesn't try to impale him with a fork, so he waves a hand, shakes his head, ignore that for a second--] I'm not here for you. It's exactly like you said, time as we know it isn't the same here. I don't even really know where here is. If the TVA is outside of the normal spacetime flow, then this is somehow outside of that. Another universe entirely, probably. [Which shouldn't be, but hell, there's a lot that shouldn't be.] I genuinely didn't know you were here. I'm not here on official business.

I'm here on me business. Warden business.

[Loki relaxes, marginally. Okay. He's willing to buy that. A lot of people here are on "me" business more than anything else. He won't fully let his guard down, but as stories go, it's feasible. It helps that the man doesn't seem defensive so much as confused.

He puts the fork down, sighs.]

"Met" is a strong word, perhaps. We spoke via some sort of-- [Hand wave.] --interdimensional video call. But that was on a different ship entirely. And I was still an inmate.

[He doesn't say 'and therefore, my judgment was perhaps not the best', but if this man knows as much about him as he says, he can likely infer that part.]

You only have to worry about me, fortunately. And my whole life story, apparently.

[He cocks his head to the side.] How much do you know already? Just so I know which bits to gloss over.

[So he's been on another one of these ships before as an inmate, graduated, and then hopped to another ship as a warden. If the alternative is death--probably at the very large hand of a very large man--then sure, he can buy that. Being a warden grants a boon, a windfall, and there's plenty Loki could want for that.

Mobius gives a rueful smile.] The tricky part about that is I've seen and read about plenty of you, collectively, and the lifepaths can be very different. Did he tell you about the alligator? Or the one that can become a Hulk?

So let's start with something a lot simpler than 'tell me your life story', cuz it'll give me a much better idea here. What was happening with you before you became an inmate?

A Hulk? How-- [He holds up a hand.] Never mind. I don't want to know.

[But sure, he can start simple. Sighing, he slumps back in his chair, legs extending out as he affects a casual air despite what he's about to say.]

Thanos snapping my neck on the Statesman. I'm guessing you know who that is?

[The elder version of him had mentioned the same scene, after all. That seems like a constant. One he'd like to avoid.]

Does that tell you anything useful?

[He starts counting off major events on his fingers until there's really no point and then mostly just motions with his hands instead.] Stolen leverage ice baby by Odin. Outcast child without ever understanding why he's an outcast. Fucked around in Jotunheim and found out thanks to Thor. Try to destroy Jotunheim, backfires spectacularly, drop into a singularity, get picked up by the worst people someone in your mindset could've been picked up by. Attack New York, get ass handed to you. Locked up on Asgard, Dark Elves attack, Frigga dies, convoluted plan with Thor and Jane, fake death, take over as king with no one the wiser. Live the high life until Thor comes back from his journey of self discovery. Hela, Ragnarok, destruction of Asgard.

[Motion to Loki:] Thanos. End of the line. That all sound about right?

[It's one thing for Mobius to claim to know everything about him. It's another for him to demonstrate it so casually. Loki sits up straight again, gaze turning more intent.]

You know all that. [Stated with a tone somewhere between awe and horror.] But not from-- from the version of me you thought I was. From files.

[He purses his lips, searching the man's face.]

But you didn't banish him to the end of time, did you? He wouldn't just be insulting your lunch if that was the case.

I'm going to say something that's gonna sound like absolute horsecrap: that's how your life is supposed to go. In the sacred timeline. So yeah. I know your life inside and out through files and footage, and having met a good number of you.

And I got to know a specific variant of you really well. [Which, apparently, is all he wants to say on that unless specifically asked.]

[That's interesting. Why does he seem reluctant to be more specific than that? What does he mean by really well?

It's easier to zone in on that than on being told his life was supposed to be anything.]

How did this "variant" differ? [Eyes narrowed, Loki leans in and lowers his voice.] What did he do to make you trust him when you know us all so well?

Through a comedy of errors, he ended up with the Tesseract right after getting soundly arrested by the Avengers and got out of there. And all he did was help me out. Kinda. We were tracking down another variant who was giving us the slip, so I decided the best way to catch a Loki is with a Loki and more or less recruited him. [He spreads his hands.] It could've been any version of you I picked up. Happened to be him.

[A smirk slants across Loki's lips.]

I take that "kinda" to mean he was far more likely to cause you trouble than anything else?

He wasn't all that inclined to do it out of the goodness of his heart, let's say. Things got complicated from there. Because nothing's ever simple with a Loki around.

[Snort.]

Yes, well. I'm sure you expected that, with all you know.

[He shakes his head, equal parts amused and unsettled.]

You know, I think you chose exactly the right time to grab him. Fresh off a catastrophic failure, destined for a cell with nothing but the disappointment of all the people he loved to keep him company. And then you pluck him away from all that and give him this. [He gestures vaguely at Mobius, chuckling as he leans back into the chair again.] Truly devious. Maybe you ought to be an inmate, after all.

I made no secret that I wasn't offering him a chance just out of the goodness of my heart.

He really made improvements, though. Leaps and bounds. Not enough that I think he'd end up a warden, but I could see that kind of path for him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

TEST DRIVE 006

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if you apped i could retcon this nbd

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