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!
4. Maybe even reserve so you CAN live on 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. Have Met Before? Because I Could've Sworn I've Seen You In My Dreams.
   Have you wandered into the realm of Dreaming via an archway in Keeliai? Here, everything is shaped to your character's individual mind. Dreams can be shared between characters and will result in a meshing of minds. These dreams can be positive or negative, depending on your character.
4. Dramatic Chase Sequence!
   You're running away from something! It could be anything, from a rampaging kirin to a gaggle of overly enthusiastic children, or even one of the newest editions to Keeliai's menagerie, an incredibly affectionate turtle the size of a minivan! One way or another, you can't stop, and much like a katamari ball, you feel obligated to grab everyone in your path along the way to keep them out of danger! Or perhaps you're more the sort to try and knock them into it as a distraction...?
5. Walking in a Winter Wonderland
   Tu Vishan's entered colder waters and snow now abounds all over the turtle. Are you out enjoying the cold? Maybe trying on some extra warm layers of clothing? Building a snow turtle for the kids to play with? Then this option's for you!
6. 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

diana of themyscira ✪ dc

[mythically]

wildcard;

[cowled]

[He's drinking coffee when he sees her, something of the sort you'd find at Starbucks, half-caf caracoli non-fat latte with light cinnamon and a shot of butterscotch type variety. All things considered, he vastly prefers it black, but when one has a reputation to maintain, well. Sometimes being a great actor means more than wearing the right mask.

Still, he pauses, the cup halfway to his lips. Slowly, he lowers it back to the table, and a moment later has all but disappeared from the lovely cafe he's been patronizing for the better part of an hour. It's a quaint little thing, tucked away in the Water Sector and built to overlook one of the skating rink nee canals. Still, he manages to escape without drawing anyone's attention, and falls into step beside her.]

Diana.

[The tone is all Bruce, no hint of his other identity so much as creeps into it. But Diana knows him well enough to understand he's never truly anything other than Batman.]

[mythically]

<sub>( diana’s used to islands. ones that float on giant sentient beings? not so much. still, the general terrain is familiar enough, and upon first arriving she decides the network might not be worth her time as much as a little exploration. the fact that she ends up in water is a preference issue, and one she wouldn’t deny. the fact that he finds her there is a happy accident, of course.

the smile comes first—warm, affectionate, and always just a touch mocking. because she knows about and respects all his masks, but has never needed any for herself. then there’s the look—assessing, trying to see if he’s alright (and when is he ever not?), trying to get a handle on the situation from the slightest tells he has in expression and tone. )</sub>

Hello, Bruce.

_{( she’s still looking around, by all accounts fascinated by her new surroundings. )}

You didn’t tell me you found a new vacation spot.

[cowled]

[He smiles, giving nothing away. This isn't the place for it. If Diana wants answers, he'll supply them. But not here. Instead, he steers her towards one of his safe houses with a subtle pressure against her arm, masquerading as the gesture of a consummate flirt.]

An oversight on my behalf, I assure you. If I had any sense at all you'd have been the first person to hear of it.

[It's all affable charm and easy camaraderie as far as the eye can see.]

[mythically]

That'd better be the case. _{( she returns, nose as high in the air as she can manage. she's gleaned enough to know that if he's here--still here, perhaps being the more accurate phrase--there's something keeping it that way. so she goes along with his subtle guidance, trusting him to take them wherever will suit best. )}

[cowled]

[An accurate assessment, the likes of which he honestly abhors. Count the ways in which the Batman does well with being trapped somewhere against his will? Hope you wind up in the negatives.

Bruce chatters idly at her - about the weather, the latest fashions in Keeliai, some of the politics that would be publicly interesting to an Ambassador, but all of it's a cover to direct her into one of his more clandestine warehouses. The second they're inside, the façade drops.]

What's the last thing you remember?

[He's kind of sick of people coming in from the year he spent lost in time, but Diana doesn't seem to be particularly surprised to see him, which is a positive. Clark's grief was... difficult enough to handle, it's not something he'd like to repeat with the other of his closest friends. Of the two of them, Diana is more accustomed to losses in battle, but her feelings run no less deep.]

[mythically]

<sub>( she can sense it, as soon as they're somewhere secure, and so she leans back against the wall and crosses her arms over her chest--a relaxed position but also a defensive one. there's a certain edge that comes with being in unknown territory, and even if she's found an ally and good at dealing with such things besides, it's still a stressful conversation.

his question worries her--is there something others have forgotten?--but it's simple enough to answer. )</sub>

Fighting Circe. You were there.

<sub>( which puts her post one year later but pre final crisis, for those playing along at home.

she gives him a searching look, trying to glean more than he's openly saying. finally, she settles for: )</sub> What's the last thing you remember?

[cowled]

[He makes a noise characteristic to being deep in thought, sort of a hn.]

Fifteen months after that.

[Or. Thereabouts. Timelines??? Comics??? One of these things is not like the other one!]

Relative to our timeline, at least. I've been in this place five hundred and fifteen [leave it to him to be unerringly precise] days.

[He doesn't say, it's good to see you, Diana. Because that's entirely too much like emotion, and he's all but reached his quota for the decade.]

[mythically]

_{( she frowns, at that. it's too much time she can't account for, too much space in which things could've happened. but she knows, almost immediately, that she can't control that, so she just sighs softly. she looks up at him and lets that familiar wry smile fall into place. )}

So that's at least a year and a half since we've seen each other. Did you miss me?

[cowled]

[THIS EXPRESSION ALL OVER is probably answer enough. Or is it.]

We have other things to be concerned about than whether or not there are superficial emotions in play here.

[There is probably a Bat-stick up his Bat-arse, honestly.]

This place is a prison, Diana.

[In case she missed that memo.]

[mythically]

<sub>( bruce it's okay you can have an emotion she won't tell anyone!! except maybe kal but he already knows anyway.

anyway, she's going to frown at him, because emotions are hardly superficial and she's also not alright with what he's implying. )</sub>

I assumed as much, since you've been here for five-hundred and fifteen days.

Unless there's a long-term plan at work that you're about to let me in on...?

[cowled]

[These emotions are superficial because justice. Or something. Also excuse you, Ms. Prince. Is there any world in which Bruce doesn't have a long-term ploy in the making? Bruce uses MASTER MANIPULATOR. It's not very effective...]

Of course.

['What am I, a Green Lantern?']

But there are other things you need to be aware of first. Nearly half the League [on the a-side, anyway] is here. Kal, Barry. [a vicious downward quirk of his mouth.] Jordan. Arthur. Kyle Rayner. An alternate universe incarnation of both Zatanna Zatara and Hal. Gardner was here briefly. As were you.

[Though, again. Alternate realities. They are his absolute favourite thing, right up there with crowbars.]

[mythically]

Barry. _{( that's the first thing she reacts to, her voice flat because her superficial emotions are frozen somewhere between her brain and her heart. of course, it's not new, people returning from the great beyond--and to be honest she's so familiar with her own concept of an afterlife that she really can't be surprised--but it's still... she clears her throat. )}

So, we're trapped. Multiple universes are being drawn into this one. A half-dozen members of the League are here. And when you say some people were here...

Has anyone made it out?

[cowled]

[It's okay, Barry is responsible for several emotions he'd rather not name either. Seeing him again, working alongside him... even for someone as unflappable as Bruce, it's. Been interesting.]

Alive.

[It's faintly reassuring, if she were ever to need such a thing and he one to offer it. And then he folds his arms and looks away, jaw set and stubborn.]

Difficult to say. People come and go, it seems there's a design flaw in the mechanism that draws us in. To my knowledge [read: it's a damned guarantee] no one has wilfully chosen to leave and succeeded in doing so.

also wildcard!

[andaway]

[Bruce is subtle, calm, discreet. Clark is anything but. There isn't really any kind of warning before a red and blue kind of blur engulfs Diana in a tight hug. He has Lois and Bruce in here, not to mention everyone else from his world- but Diana is still his other best friend and he had missed her dearly.]

Aren't you a sight for the sore eyes.

[mythically]

_{( oh, well isn't that a familiar embrace. she leans into it, rests her head on kal's shoulder because he's about the only person she can do that with. after a moment she's pulling away, her hands braced on his shoulders so she can get a good look at him. )}

Well, I'd hope so. I take it it's been awhile?

[andaway]

[He's terribly glad she returns the embrace, he'd been fearing for a second she wouldn't recognize him. He should probably used to that kind of misunderstandings but he can't help the wave of disappointment that washes over him every time, as unfair as it is to the others from different worlds.]

More than a year, going on two. [He lets her go when she pulls away, the smile never leaving his lips but taking a generally more serious stance. He's also still hovering.] I'm guessing you've been told about this place when you woke up here?

[mythically]

I've heard the basics. _{( which have worried her, because anything that can keep kal and bruce trapped for over a year is not a force that's going to be taken down lightly. right now she can't do much about it, but she can ask: )} That's a long time. You've been alright?

[andaway]

I have, and haven't. The place treats us nicely but over time the fact that we're basically facing a war has been made more and more clear.

[He sighs as he looks to the side, to the rest of the city. There's so much to tell, he doesn't know where to begin.] You and Bruce have always been better at this kind of planning than I have ever been.

[mythically]

Don't be so sure. If there was a wall I could punch-through to get us out of here, I'd take that option.

[andaway]

Been there, done that. Three times- I almost died all of them so I would hardly recommend it.

And Arthur is here as well, the underwater barrier is just as strong.

[mythically]

So patience and planning it is, then.

_{( she sighs, a brief one-count. )}

It could be worse. Between everyone who's here, it doesn't sound like there's much to worry about.

[andaway]

Barry is also here. So is Lois, and Hal along with other green lanterns. ...There are two Hals, so twice the fun. This place is apparently alright with tapping into the multiverse like that, sometimes more than one of us end up in this place.

[He refrains from explaining about the little Clark Kent, or his father. He knows he can be overwhelming with his need to share and make sure everyone has all the possible information, and the people closest to him like Diana get the blunt of it.

And then something he should have asked first (Bruce would be disappointed) hits him.]

What's the last thing you remember?

[mythically]

Two Hals. _{( her voice sounds so wry, because who on earth had that idea? and then, more softly: )} And Barry.

_{( it takes her a moment to get over that, but then she just shakes her head. )}

I was fighting with Circe--Bruce said he can remember over a year past that.

[andaway]

I remember. [He nods, relief clear in his face. He knows he won't be able to keep anything hidden for long, not from her, but still he's glad she hasn't had to face some things yet.

Assuming he's right on what she's talking about.]

I'm from a little less than year, I think. If you want to know more about the future you can ask the Emperor in the audiences, but isn't cheap.