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

[manpaining]

[Well you know what? He's not sorry. Way to die on him, Tess. You were one of the few constants in his messed-up life.]

Shit. [He says it more out of awe than as an actual curse.]

You look as real as I do, for what it's worth.

[nowthatsfunny]

[SHE DIDN'T MEAN TO.]

I should hope so. I've probably gained ten pounds since I got here.

[Oops the deflecting happens again.]

[manpaining]

[Breathe, Joel, breathe.

He lets her deflect this time to give him a little mental space.]

Yeah, doesn't look like they're hurtin' for supplies.

[nowthatsfunny]

[She takes his hand, gives it a squeeze. Don't be upset on her part, Joel, okay? She doesn't want to do that to him, not at all, not by a long shot.]

It's somethin' else. Stores, restaurants, the whole deal. Like before the outbreak. There's no infected, Joel.

[manpaining]

[He squeezes back, briefly. His heart still aches at the sight of her. At knowing that he couldn't protect her. Sure, she can protect herself. She went down fighting, the way she wanted to.

But it didn't hurt less. Didn't ease the guilt.]

You've gotta be bullshittin' me. Bet Ellie's been skippin' up and down the street.

[nowthatsfunny]

[Tess smiles a little.] I think she's gained more weight than me. She's missed you.

I've missed you.

[manpaining]

[Joel... isn't sure how to respond. There are things he wants to say but phrasing them... being brave enough to say them.

He can't.]

I'm gonna have to make it up to you two.

[nowthatsfunny]

[She could make a joke again, but - well. For the moment, maybe there's a better approach.]

Seriously, being here - that makes up for it.

[manpaining]

[Well he's still going to make it up to them somehow. By not leaving. By spoiling the hell out of them now that he can.]

Ellie said there's coffee. Sounds a little like heaven.

[nowthatsfunny]

Yeah, I get coffee just about every day.

Well, I eat out all the time, I can't cook worth shit anyway.

[manpaining]

Cookin'. Now there's somethin' I ain't done in a long time.

[He wasn't a super chef, but he could manage. It's on his long list of things he had to learn while taking care of Sarah.]

[nowthatsfunny]

I bet Ellie'd love to have you cook for her.

[That he'd be cooking for Tess as well goes without saying.]

Food is about her favorite thing.

[manpaining]

[There's something like a laugh that escapes Joel.]

I don't blame her. She's never had this much food available to her.

[nowthatsfunny]

Yeah. They just had Christmas. I was so sick the first week or so I was here - I ate too much, and too rich. It was like a food bender.

[manpaining]

People scrapin' together a proper Christmas? Ain't seen that in a long time.

[Most people had lost hope. Lost reasons to celebrate.]

Y'all enjoy yourselves?

[nowthatsfunny]

I don't think they need to do much scraping - there's plenty for everyone.

[She smiles.] I'm having a blast. I went clothes shopping, too. Clothes shopping.

[manpaining]

Now that I would've paid to see.

[He can just imagine Tess going through the racks like a kid in a candy store.]

[nowthatsfunny]

The hell you would, just wait until I put on a dress. I've got some curves, now.

[She hasn't bought a dress, but she could, and maybe she will. Just to see the look on his face when she wears it. Now that he's here.]

[manpaining]

You? In a dress?

[Clearly disbelieving. Maybe slightly exaggerated.]

[nowthatsfunny]

Believe it or not, I have worn one.

[Okay, for prom.]

[manpaining]

Willingly?

[Now he's just ribbing her a little. It's better than dealing with feelings, than processing how she's here.]

[nowthatsfunny]

What do you think would happen to someone who tried to get me to wear something I didn't want to wear?

[Tess raises an eyebrow at him, because really Joel. She can wear a dress and still be her same old hard-assed self.]

[manpaining]

Not sure I want to know the specifics.

[Just that there would be a lot of blood.]

[nowthatsfunny]

Probably better that way. [She offers him a faint smile.] C'mon, you need to see the bar.

[manpaining]

[Oh, Tess, you know him so well.]

Yeah. [He's going to do his damnedest to drink himself under the table. He very rarely used drinking as a kind of therapy before (he needed to stay sharp, if nothing else), but talking to Tess from beyond the grave. Yeah. This calls for large amounts of alcohol.]