TEST DRIVE

[ironwood]

TEST DRIVE MEME - TU SHANSHU EDITION!

Itching to try out writing a character? Then rev up your engines, grab your accounts, and slam your way into this meme! Here is a venue for you to try out whatever character there might be tickling your fancy, from fandom to OC, for as few as one and as many as MANY. Seriously, there's no limit.

How do you partake in this fantastic congregation of character testing? Why, by following these simple steps:

1. Comment with the journal of a character you want to test; put their name and canon in the subject line for added sparkles.
2. Tag around with everyone!
3. Profit like you live on a the back of a turtle!

But wait, there's more! For the low, low price of $9,999.99, you can even use one of our handy prompts when you tag someone. You could even pick one with a Random Number Generator to help decide which prompt to go with!

1. A Chance Meeting at the Turtle's Head.
   Remember, being here causes a great sense of-- well, shall we say inner peace.
2. Haggling Over Something in the Marketplace!
   Maybe someone else saw the exact same shiny thing you did at the exact same moment! However shall this be resolved? Remember: blood is extremely hard to scrub off of turtleshell!
3. Hey, I Just Met You, and This is Crazy...
   First impressions are always the most important, right?
4. WILDCARD!
   Go nuts. Suddenly your character is fighting dragons! Good God, they've found the Millennium Falcon drifting in the ocean! Do you really feel the need to polish every paving stone in the Earth Sector? Please note, Wildcard options are also what you can choose to do if you aren't yet comfortable in the Tu Shanshu setting and would prefer a more 'dear-mun' esque experience. Please specify in your post!

Comments

WILDCARD

[oathwalk]

[So you're just walking in the street with a friend like you do, right, Asbel? Maybe Richard's chatting about something inconsequential like hey how are you, how has lhant been, have you made your mom any grandkids yet and can I be their godfather, also is lambda doing okay on Tu Vishan because that's probably weird for him—

—and then on the street before you, you see it: two stacks of paperwork. One addressed to King Richard in Dalen's neat handwriting. The other one, in Frederic's handwriting, addressed to Asbel Lhant.]

. . . How . . ?

Re: WILDCARD

[heartofgraces]

[Look, everything about giant turtle is weird, Lambda's probably adjusting better than Asbel is also why are you always asking about grandkids you are worse than his mom and also he doesn't think so and he hopes she isn't because he wants to be there not on a turtle of course richard can be the godfather who else would he ask and--

.............................what.]

...Is that all the paperwork?

[Please, please let him be hallucinating.]

[oathwalk]

[King Richard has a reputation among those who have fought beside him as being fearless and brave, leading his men from the front and asking them to take no risk he would not take himself.

None of that courage is visible now.]

It . . . looks authentic. That is Dalen's handwriting.

[asbel you're supposed to protect people right PLEASE PROTECT HIM FROM THIS

No, okay. Richard .... cautiously approaches and picks up the pile addressed to him.] The ones at the top were on my desk before I arrived here. I had planned on taking care of them in the morning.

[how the hell did you pull this off dalen. how. the. hell.]

[heartofgraces]

...This is definitely...Did Hubert get Pascal to do this? I can't think of how else they'd even...

[Oh, god. He picks up the top sheet and reads it over before looking over at Richard.]

How are we supposed to send it back?

[oathwalk]

[Richard starts flipping through, looking for something, but—] There are no return instructions. Do they expect us to somehow know?

[heartofgraces]

Hubert left a note, hang on--wait, no, that's just the soldier's pay...

[Goddammit little brother.]

...If we could figure out how to send it back, then we could at least send a note back, Sophie and Cheria have to be worried sick by now...

[oathwalk]

If they've found a way to get this to us, they must know we're here. . . . I think.

[What is this fuckery oh god he just saw a note that names a conference he is supposed to be at HE CAN'T MAKE THE CONFERENCE, DALEN, HE IS ON A TURTLE.] It's strange. I had been told of evidence that no time passed at home while we were here. It seemed mostly conclusive. I can't imagine why or how they'd send us work without attempting to bring us back or at least telling us how to return it.

[heartofgraces]

...[Looking at the dates of his paperwork.] I...is all this just from the day I left?!

[OH GOD WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO.] Still, I'd still like to send them some notice I'm okay, even if time isn't actually passing...I don't want them to worry when they don't have to.

[oathwalk]

[NO WAIT HE HAS READ COMIC BOOKS HE HAS THIS] If time isn't passing, then even if we send a note, that note will arrive at the moment of our departure and return. No one would have the chance to read the note, or even be worried, before the problem was dealt with. I appreciate the sentiment, but the execution would seem impossible.

[heartofgraces]

But then...how did this get here? This is all from one day but...

[Leaning over to look at richard's dude do you kill monsters to get away from this?]

[oathwalk]

[yeah sorry to break it to you but. the atonement thing is a front. please save him from kingship.

to be honest, Richard is already trying to skim-read through them so he can get through them later tonight. Because he knows he's going to do them. The papers are in his hands. He has to do them.]

I can't say I understand. I suppose we could ask someone more familiar with this kind of thing...

[heartofgraces]

[Richard he can't friendship your paperwork that is beyond him. PAPER HAS NO HEART THIS ISN'T GONNA WORK.

Asbel stares at it a while longer and. Sighs.]

Do you know someone who'd know? ...How are we suppose to store this, anyway? It seems weird to just have it and not be able to send it back...won't it get lost or damaged if it has to sit around for a while?

[oathwalk]

[you don't know that! if you can friendship at a planet, you can friendship at paperwork!!!

Richard just sort of gives in and tucks the papers under his arm. Time to take it home.]

I'll ask Qilby or Una. As for the papers, we could leave them out on our desks tonight. Perhaps they'll be taken back the same way they were brought here.

[heartofgraces]

[Welp. He'll gather up the rest of his pile, then.]

We don't really have anything else to go on...Lambda doesn't have any other ideas, either. So I guess we've just gotta hope that works.

[oathwalk]

[Richard is just... going to turn and head back to the suites because he knows this will take him all night so he should probably just start and get the pain over with.]

I suppose I owe Dalen a great thanks. It speaks of beyond average dedication to the running of the nation for him to send me my paperwork even across universes.

[what Richard is suffering is known in some places as stockholm syndrome]

[heartofgraces]

...You don't sound like you really want to thank him, Richard.

[EVEN ASBEL CAN TELL. Which is probably why he's taking his and following you.]

[oathwalk]

I'm surprised at you, Asbel. Don't you feel any desire to thank Frederic and Bailey for their hard work?

[is he or is he not trolling Asbel? who knows]

[heartofgraces]

Of course I do! [sdflkdsaf] That's not what I mean, I was just...

[oathwalk]

You were just...?

[heartofgraces]

You sounded tired! I was just worried, Richard.

[WHY IS HE SUDDENLY THE BAD GUY HERE?!]

[oathwalk]

[because friendship is all about giving each other a hard time]

While I appreciate your concern, you must be more careful with the implications of your speech. A lord cannot afford for his words to be twisted or misinterpreted by his enemies.

[lbr, Richard just likes lecturing Asbel on proper behaviour. Asbel has funny reactions, and it never has any effect, which is great because Richard wouldn't want it to.]

[heartofgraces]

...Right.

[HE JUST LOOKS SO CRESTFALLEN for a moment before being determined.]

I'll have to try even harder, then!

[Somewhere, Lambda is torn between laughing and wishing he had hands to facepalm with.]

[oathwalk]

[ONLY YOU ASBEL JFC. Richard has to actually smile. And this is the man he owes his life and sanity to.]

I have every confidence that you'll succeed.

[heartofgraces]

[Kind of makes you wonder how he managed, huh?]

Thanks....I'm glad you'll be there to help me.

[He doesn't have to question it; after all, he'd do the same for Richard.]

[oathwalk]

[There's more friendship here than a little pony could handle. But Asbel completely glided past Richard's teasing with the power of sincerity and kindness, and Richard loves him for it.]

Of course, my friend.

[He nods towards Asbel's respective pile of paper.]

Though even I can't be of assistance with that.