Test Drive Meme | February 2014

[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. Shapeshifting Shenanigans
   The native kedan are shapeshifters and it seems like something's gotten into the water supply, because you suddenly find yourself able to duplicate that particular skill! Whether you're any good at it or not remains to be seen...
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

[painetched]

[ Long, long hard look. He's not been impressed with that eyebrow for most of said half-century's worth of time. ]

My name is Dick Grayson.

[ If that means anything ... in whatever reality this Batman's coming from. ]

[batmullet]

[There's a few seconds of stunned silence... followed by a very un-Batman-like expression: his eyes light up. Because here, in the flesh, was someone he had only read about.]

Bruce Wayne's ward? [There were a million different ways he would have phrased that if they weren't standing in the middle of a crowded street.]

[painetched]

Yeah... fifty years or so ago.

[ There's definite amusement in Dick's voice, but also... something else. The kid reminds him of Terry, except he isn't. ]

What's your name?

[batmullet]

[Fifty years? But according to Alfred's journal...

The frown returns.] Batman. [Middle. of. the. street.]

Is there somewhere we can talk in private?

[painetched]

[ And Dick gives a very, very clear kid, please look that nobody could mistake for anything other than what it is. ]

[ On the other hand, that's a good question. This is still new territory for Dick, so he ... shrugs. And points up. ]

Rooftops usually work. There's some taller buildings in Metal.

[batmullet]

[Excuse you, he might be new at this but he knows he shouldn't just give his name out in a crowd.]

In... where? [But rooftops work.]

[painetched]

[ Sure, but there are less attitude-filled ways to do it. ]

[ Dick sighs, then unfolds from his perch to leap up and bounce off a window ledge and then flip easily to the nearest rooftop. ]

Follow me.

[batmullet]

[Wow, this guy is just as acrobatic as he was in Alfred's stories.

Tallant, sadly, is not that acrobatic, so he makes do with his grappling hook, following the one-eyed former Robin to what he hopes will be somewhere he could talk more openly.]

[painetched]

[ Dick almost smirks, at the grapple. But not quite. He's used to minimizing the use of the lines, and also to Terry using the other options that his Batsuit offers. ]

[ He pauses when they're about to cross into the richer section of town. ]

Water Sector.

[ He motions behind himself. ]

Metal Sector.

[ And a wave ahead, where low scyscrapers puncture the skyline. ]

You can see how people like us can get more privacy there.

[batmullet]

[Tallant's jaw almost hits the floor. He'd never seen such a sight outside of his mother's books before. So this is what Gotham could look like...]

They're incredible. [And still standing!]

[painetched]

[ Dick stops. This... this is nothing, to Gotham. Gotham from his youth, let alone the Gotham of his present. ]

[ He stares at the young man in the mask, and, then, very quietly. ]

What happened to Gotham?

[batmullet]

50 years of sickness and anarchy. [Clenches a fist.]

You asked me who I was, and I apologize for my non-answer before... [He pulls the cowl off. He's practically the spitting image of his father.. if Bruce ever decided to rock a mullet.] My name is Tallant, and Bruce Wayne was my father.

[painetched]

... you mean an epidemic.

[ Still quiet. He takes the young man in. As is. And, no, basically it was Dick with the mullet. A very long time ago. ]

He never fathered a biological son, in my world.

[ As far as he knows. But Dick shakes that thought, and steps closer, reaching out a hand to shake. ]

's good to meet you, Tallant Wayne. How long've you been shouldering the city on your own?

[batmullet]

[Nods.] The Honduras Strain-9 virus. It's killed billions.

It's still odd, this concept of different worlds... [After a short pause, he then adds.] I must say, I pictured you differently from Mr. Pennyworth's descriptions.

[Tallant takes Dick's hand and gives it a firm shake.]

Not long enough. I've only recently learned of my father's legacy, and there's much work to be done before I could be a Batman he could be proud of.

[painetched]

[ Dick's shake is just as firm, but he does cant his head. ]

Is it an 'everyone who's infected dies' strain, or an 'everyone's infected, but only some die' one?

[ In other words, are you infected, kid?. And, also... ]

Was it Ra's?

[ Then his eye squeezes shut, for a moment. ]

What did Alfred say?

[ He's... going to leave Bruce being proud of people for later. He's not ready to explain things about the old man to his son. Who, by the look of things, might have never known him. Not right off the bat, at least. ]

[batmullet]

Strain-9 has a 97% fatality rate. If I was infected, I assure you I would not be here speaking with you.

[In other words, you have nothing to worry about.]

Yes. [He was surprised that Dick would know at first, but then he remembers his grandfather mentioning how his father was his primary rival in the past. Of course his father's former partner would know his tactics.]

Oh nothing bad! His journals chronicled your exploits alongside my father's, as well as the exploits of Mr. Todd and Mr. Drake until his death. He wrote of you mainly in your youth, so I admit I imagined you younger. [He also pictured you.... more cheerful? Tallant isn't quite sure that's the right word for it, but it's the closest he can think of.] ...Were you ever Nightwing where you're from?

[painetched]

[ Quick nod. It's important to know - Dick's not fully aware what medical facilities there are, let alone laboratories, but if a Ra's virus was going to attack the populace, he'd find a way to get it dealt with, and stat. ]

[ His eyebrow lowers, though. ]

You didn't know Alfred. And... I guess whoever said Mr. Todd is, he wasn't one of us, in my world.

[ He was more cheerful. Until the man he used to consider father left him to deal all alone with forty bullet wounds and paralysis that might have been for life. That kinda takes it out of a guy, honestly. ]

I was, yeah. Before...

[ Vague wave at his eyepatch. Not up to details, for now. ]

[batmullet]

[Tallant knew how to create a cure, so should something go wrong he's sure there would be the right equipment here to recreate it.]

I didn't know any of them, they've all died before I was born or when I was too young to remember them. [Like his father.] The Gordon's are my father's sole surviving allies from that time. And according to Alfred's journals, Jason Todd was the second Robin, between yourself and Mr. Drake. He... apparently he was killed by someone named "The Joker." [It's clear from his tone that name means nothing to him.] He appears to have been my father's archnemesis before the outbreak.

[He bites the inside of his lip; he didn't mean to accidentally step on a landmine.] I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked.

[painetched]

It's okay, kid. It's history.

[ But then the tension visibly tops up. The blue eye narrows, the wrinkled lips purse, the chin tightens. ]

He took in Timmy after the Joker killed...

[ One of us? Dick doesn't finish that thought, instead giving a low growl, and taking off across the rooftops. He can't... Be careful and considerate with the man's son, when he was so, so bloody angry with Bruce. He doesn't have words fit for polite company. Let alone for Tallant. Right now would be a good time to run into some gang activity, if Dick knows what to look for. Which he doesn't. ]

[batmullet]

[He had clearly said the wrong thing again. It seems he was doomed to do nothing else in front of a man he admired.]

From what I could tell, it was not a decision he made lightly. The death of Jason Todd nearly destroyed my father. Mr. Pennyworth was very worried about my father after it happened, and apparently Mr. Drake figured out your identity and my father's on his own. According to the journals, you were the one who brought him to the Batcave, and it was Mr. Pennyworth who gave him the costume of Robin. After rescuing you and my father, my father agreed to let him be Robin on an interim basis... one that eventually became permanent.

[painetched]

[ It wasn't Tallant's fault. And, when Dick pauses and turns, the anger in his eye is clearly not for Tallant. ]

I must've been a very different person, then.

[ Would he have done that, he wonders? Before the Joker shot him and Bruce left him out to dry on his own? Would he have brought another kid to the fold, after what happened to Tim? Dick's not sure. She shakes his head, settling down in another crouch, now much higher from the street. ]

Sorry, kid. Your father and I haven't really seen eye to eye for a very long time, now. Shouldn't be taking it out on you.

What've you seen of the city, so far?

[batmullet]

[He bites the inside of his lip. There's a lot of anger there, anger aimed at... who? His father, most likely. But why? From what he had learned from Alfred Pennyworth's journals, his father and Dick had gotten along. They had had their arguments from time to time, but they seemed to genuinely care for one another. Was Mr. Pennyworth's journals embellished? Or was this a result of being from a different world? Whatever it is, he should leave it alone.]

Not as much as I'd like. I admit I spent a little longer than I intended at one of this city's many restaurants. [He's so overjoyed by the concept of actual restaurants, you have no idea.] And then I was--what's the phrase?--window browsing?

[painetched]

[ Another eyebrow arch. But he does accept (and appreciate) the moving of the topic away from things that're likely to ... be hurtful for the young man. (Oh, Dick had cared. That's why Bruce's brand of barely bothering had destroyed him, for so long.) ]

[ The words, though. ]

All right, I think we need to backtrack a little. What is it like, where you come from? What... [ Chintilt towards the cape. ] What made you put that on?

[ Restaurant. Window browsing. They sound like something Tallant hasn't had any, and it's different for Dick to conceptualize Batman without his urban setting. Not that Batman hasn't done things in the desert, in the jungle, or high in the mountains. It was just - not his home. ]

[batmullet]

Do you see the city in front of you? Imagine it in flames, destroyed and picked apart by looters, and where the only people who brave the streets even in the daytime are members of the city's half dozen gangs, and you have the city I grew up in. That is the sorry state that Gotham has become.

[He runs his fingers down the side of his cape.] As for why I put on my father's cowl, it was because I had to. Ra's was trying to pervert my father's memory, and I would not let that stand. And as for why I kept it on after he retreated--Gotham needs a Batman. I'm sure of that now more than ever.