tushanshu_ooc | Test Drive Meme

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Test Drive Meme | #35

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:

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

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 turtle shell!
Dramatic Chase Sequence!
You're running away from something! It could be anything, from a rampaging kirin to a gaggle of overly enthusiastic children! 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...?
Where There's A Will, There's A...?
The Life and Dreaming Planes have been merged, and sometimes what starts out as wishful thinking becomes lured into reality. That slick new motorcycle or pile of kingly treasure you were just daydreaming about? Surprise! It's just appeared in front of you. Though, it may only stay for a short while before it disappears again, so make it count. Hopefully you're not the type to daydream about terrible things befalling people you don't like...
SECRET UNDERCOVER MODE ACTIVATE!
The three major kedan families all have their own agendas, and you've chosen to entangle yourselves with one (or more!) of them. Are you hoping to shift the balance of power? Gain some favours? Perhaps you're on a mission to bring a criminal to justice, or maybe you just want to get the cream of the crop from the black market. Maybe you haven't been hired by them at all, but are using their name for your own goals... as long as no one discovers the lie!
Wait... you want my what now?!
The kedan are a curious folk, and the Foreigners are entertainment in conveniently arriving packages, especially when they come along with unique items that the kedan might not have seen before. Maybe it's your cellphone... or maybe it's your knickers! How badly do you want to keep your stuff from some overeager native shapeshifters who want to buy, bribe, or burglarize it right off your person?
Sea prunes, get your sea prunes right here!
Life in Keeliai can take a little getting used to: the chickens have scales, the cows have feathers, and the fruits come in more colour and pattern combinations than your average tye-dye shirt. Not to mention that meal you just ordered from the food vendor? Has arrived on the plate, and you're pretty sure you just saw it move.
Everybody needs a little darkness...
The Great Enemy may have been defeated over two years ago, and people are even willing to speak Malicant's name aloud now, but there remains a taint in the city never fully purged. Those who consider Malicant a dark god whose end was unjust are the cultists of Keeliai, and they aren't always so easy to identify as one might think. Sometimes their presence is felt in the growing urge to give into one's darker instincts, especially in such a foreign place...
Illicit substances, anyone?
Every city has its vices, and Keeliai is no different. Perhaps you actively sought it out, or perhaps an opportunistic dealer saw you as a potential customer needing a free sample, but you're now in possession of a packet of Lucid, an emotion-enhancing drug. Interested in finding out what happens when you crush that colourful crystal and ingest it?
Incoming!
Tu Vishan's latest landfall stop has brought an unwelcome problem to its residents: enormous, toothy creatures who look more like pterosaurs than most people are comfortable with! With a twenty-foot wingspan, these aren't exactly harmless local wildlife, and they have a nasty habit of swooping down on targets both Foreigner and kedan! How are you going to fend them off, or help someone who might have been injured by the latest dive bombing??
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? Anything goes!

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Kevas' intention to make an entrance certainly worked, as both Elizabeth and the shopkeeper jumped in startlement, which only deepened into shock when she had a proper look at his features. But she recovered a few heartbeats later, and offered him a smile that she hoped made up for her initial reaction.

"Thank you! That's very generous of you, sir. You didn't have to do that..."

The twist of unease shivering through the air was as good to Pitch, as blood in the water was to a shark... and not a wholly inapt comparison, especially for those who could actually perceive him in this place.

"Oh my dear girl..." Pitch said, luminous eyes opening against the backdrop of a shadow which shouldn't be large enough to hold a person, let alone one looking so tall and too-lean to be human. His senses reached out, trying to find purchase in her fears.

"Whatever makes you think you'll be given the choice..."

The thing about the Hotel that had John stymied right now was how magics might interact. Whoever built or wove the spells into this place had done a hell of a job, no pun intended. That left the dual questions of how those magics might react to his own (because being crushed into a bloody pile of former Laughing Magician would ruin his day) and why. Something had happened here to call for this level of security, he supposed, same as why Jasper had warded the Mill down to the bedrock. Since there wasn't a nosy angel around to shove him towards a certain path, John would just have to find out himself.

Drawing his spread hands back from the papers, the last syllable left John's lips in a whisper. Wasn't as if saying a spell any quieter would call less attention in a place that crawled with magic like this hotel, but hey, why be obscene about it? Not that it mattered much. The writing on the papers didn't seem to change any to him.

That was when he noticed the fellow somehow lifting a chair into the air. Well. Probably did make cleaning a whole lot easier and might just mask some of John's own spellcasting. With that thought in mind, his hand curled around his tumbler of, uh, tea that assuredly was not whisky. Might have been a little more care with where he tapped the ashes from his cigarette instead of just in the general direction of his ashtray.

Nothing that pretty was ever a good idea. Many nights of pub-crawling that resulted in near fatal attacks had taught him that. Good thing John Constantine and common sense had only a passing wave of acknowledgement of the other's existence familiarity. The demon theory was gaining ground in his thoughts, least until he could get hold of his scry lens from his bag without being too obvious.

"I've known many a maid that would love to learn that trick. Must make getting those fluffs that hide in the back a lot easier. You part of the staff or just entertainment?"

The Nightmare King actually had to take a good long look at Kevas for a moment before replying, because while his non-human appearance wasn't as starting to Pitch as it might be to some other Foreigners, Pitch's initial reaction was how did another Spirit arrive without my knowing?.

But no, this was no other Spirit.

"I'm hardly about to fall over," the boogeyman retorted, mouth curling slightly in a sneer. "And you would not, I think, be the best person to remark on one's health based on appearance. I do not need to eat like that."

Pitch doesn't stop Kevas from taking the snack, more than willing to let the samples be consumed so that the kedan would find some other unwary target to peddle the next batch onto. "By all means," he said, dry as the Sahara. "Do enjoy my share."

The shadows on the streets, splashed across the walls, puddled under the overhangs, all seemed to deepen as she came to a stop, as if they were not merely shades against but through. A male voice, oily and sly, came snaking out of them, surrounding her from all directions.

"The question, dear lady, is where am I not..."

Obi-Wan always had a knack for getting into trouble, just as much as Anakin had one for getting him out of it. At least that is what the young Jedi Knight would say if asked for his opinion on the matter.

Anakin originally positioned himself on a small building ledge to get a better viewpoint without risk of being trampled. It was then he saw it. Or whom rather.

Using his mechanical arm to maintain a forceful grip, he waited until Obi-Wan was near enough to make his move. Swinging down, he snatched the Jedi Master with his free arm to try and pull him up to the safety of the ledge.

"This makes eleven."

Being new to this place, John had to do a half-look around to see what others thought of a too tall thing with teeth being present. That glance confirmed things he didn't like: nobody else saw anything wrong with this. He'd hoped the hotel had just been a fluke. The place moved around, he swore it, so why not whatever this fellow was?

Telling the difference between the bad and good had gotten a whole lot harder.

"I am. Are you? Looking a little long in the tooth there if you don't mind me saying so."

Reminded him a bit of Chas in a monsterish sort of way, although John doubted they made cabs to fit someone that big.

"Fenris!" Garrett caught Fenris's hand before 'reaching for the sword' could turn into things like 'lopping off limbs and heads'. In retrospect, trying to sneak up on an ex-slave elf known to be quick on the slashing was probably not the best of ideas.

Especially since Garrett was pretty sure this wasn't the Fade. It wasn't all shimmery around the edges, and didn't have the blackened castle looming in the distance at all times. Which meant that if Fenris had gotten all slashy, Garrett wouldn't have just woken up.

Oh well. That's what armour was for.

"If you're talking to me, I can think of other ways to be lured out," Garrett told him, the corner of his mouth pulling up high in his fakest way of flirting, because that was the only way either of them could bear these days.

"Well, you aren't showing your true self, so there's that."

She rolled her eyes and then closed them, centering her breathing.

"Though I may walk through the valley of shadows," she said, her voice quiet, "I shall not fear."

DOSA's motto might have been a bit cliche, but none disputed what it stood for.

[On the whole, this place isn't bad. It's ... weird, but no weirder than most things Hawke has seen, to be fair. Actually, it reminds him of what he imagined Orlais might be like, from his mother's stories about it. So he's just strolling down the street, eating something-on-a-stick (he's not looking too closely) when he comes across a pile of ...]

What are those?

[They could almost be cats, except that some of them have scales. Or feathers. And plumage ... things. And the way the tails curl suggest they're curling independently. Magically mutated cats?]

Uh ... is there someone under there? Because while I'm known for being a dramatic fighter for the little people, I'm not sure I could bring myself to kill things that meow. Or ... whatever sound that is.

John did turn in a slow and easy sort of way as if he weren't keeping an eye on those around him at all. With the things he was seeing, it was a lot like being at the Souq. The special one that was usually held under bridges.

He tipped a brow as she performed her trick for them. Weird, this place. Magic seemed to be as commonplace here as some of the techno devices he saw others with. A world where they ran side-by-side had seemed impossible to him. Was she a magician? Damned if John knew right off, but her sleight-of-hand was damn good. Might have the good makings of a pickpocket there.

"Those kids find those coins gone to be flowers instead tomorrow, I'll have to keep my lighter close. They seem good at remembering a face. Then again, they're unlikely to remember my mug instead of yours. You seem more their age."

Kids. Why did it have to be a kid? John had no particular liking for younger crowd, not after Newcastle.

"Good variation on the Four Coin Flourish. Least that's what it looked like you used. Hard to tell when I was trying more to keep my things on me."

Edited 2016-01-25 05:42 (UTC)

It isn't the first time Pitch has been prayed at, in fact up until the last fifty years or so, it was quite a common reaction to the terrors he brought. (This one, he thinks, seems to have learned the words a little wrong, not knowing it was a specific offshoot.)

"What a charming sentiment," he laughed, although there was no humour in the sound. "It's almost a shame how laughably untrue it is. I am Fear... and you are hearing just fine."

An adult believer, no less. Would wonders never cease in this place...

[It's on her way to the Healers' Guild that Raine sees the child begging, and--]

[Well. The child looks and feels human, rather than kedan, so Raine's already sure they're a Foreigner. The Water Sector is hardly the slums of Meltokio in the first place, and the Foreigners have a safety net, or are supposed to, so far as Raine's concerned. They look out for each other, even when they're being exceptionally stupid.]

[And this is a child, alone, who cannot be any older than Genis.]

[Raine stops, because she can't do otherwise. Crouches, to put them on the same level and get a better look.]

[...she's blind?]

Are you all right?

[Start with the basics, then can come the question of why she's alone.]

It had been a day and Valdis had desperately needed to stretch her legs. The run outside the city, circling the woodsman's fields and back, had done little to drain her energy. The rather large hound shoved open the door with her nose, pushing against it with her head and then slipped her bulk through before letting it close behind her, whisking her tail out of the way just as the door clicked shut.

She shook herself from nose to tail and stretched. Most of the patrons at the Hotel were used to the black, horse-sized creature that occasionally slept by the fire or tried to hide its bulk behind the front desk. Valdis yawned, showing off her rather large teeth and padded towards Anton's door. Her emerald green, intelligent eyes scanning the room for anything new.

"Well, Mr.Fear," she laughed, her eyes opening, "I'm afraid you are just going to have to go and scare someone else."

Evelyn Hunt did not scare easily, dealing with spirits, weres and vamps tended to make one either fearless or dead and she was fairly certain she was still alive. But this creature seemed to seep into her mind, pulling on smaller fears.

Fenris's gaze snapped to the approaching woman. 'Safe' was the very last thing he felt. He wasn't inclined to take her word for it - especially since he knew demons played tricks in the Fade, and she was certainly beautiful enough to be a trick.

He drew the sword off his back and faced her, eyes hard. "Why am I here?" he asked. "I'm not a mage. I can't imagine possessing me would be quite as much fun. What's the point of this?"

He noticed her before the fight. Everything about her marked her as different; her hair, her clothes, her staff. The staff Fenris eyed suspiciously before turning his full attention to the fight, and as it turned out, he had good reason to.

A mage. A mage on their side, but even so. If Fenris wasn't accustomed to fighting with magically enhanced speed and strength bestowed by Hawke, Anders, and Merrill, he would probably have broken stride. Instead, he took the assistance for what it was, and used it to help bring the giant creature down.

When the struggle ends, Fenris stands back from the Snakes, momentarily at a loss. They're working efficiently together to clean up the mess the fight resulted in, and Fenris doesn't know the first thing about how to help. He doesn't usually stay in the area once a dangerous predator is disposed of. Besides, these men are trained; he'd likely only get in the way.

Then the mage approaches him, and Fenris's demeanour grows decidedly chillier as he turns to look at her. "No," he answers flatly. "I'm fine." After a moment's pause, however, something in his expression softens. "Thank you for your help."

"Why are you here?"

That wasn't exactly an odd question, but the following did register as quite odd and she paused in her approach, crossing her arms to prevent reaching for her blade on instinct.

"Hell if I know. I can't actually possess people, that would be a demonic power and I'm not sure a demon would care if you were a mage or not." She eyed the rather large sword. "Does your sword have a name?"

"Bloody hell. The sun just go behind a cloud?"

John looked up from the paperwork that he had been perusing even when he felt it approach. Felt it in the way other people might feel an ache in their bones when the flu set in or dread when a letter from the IRS arrived. Even an exorcist, demonologist and master of the Dark Arts knew to fear the IRS or the six and a half feet tall looming person dressed like an agent of that unholy organization.

Cigarette hanging from his lips and drink in hand, John tilted his head back a little further to look up at the man looming over him. If there was some organization to the sheaf of papers and book that John had in his lap, one would have been hard-pressed to find it.

"Depends on who's asking. If you have directions to the nearest pub, I'm John Constantine. If this is about a complaint, then he's that bloke trying to charm the cute bird at the front desk. I'll let him know you stopped by."

Tapping the ashes from his cigarette, John drew a red pencil from behind his ear and stared down at what looked like a bunch of random meaningless marks on the paper. If one watched long enough, they might get the impression of eye fatigue because those lines seemed to move the slightest bit every few seconds. To those of the stronger magically inclined, it was a simple test to make sure whatever powers there were within the Hotel's walls wasn't going to lash out at John the first time he tried an incantation. If all was well, nothing would change. If the Powers That Be in the Hotel didn't allow such, the paper would burst into flames.

[ There are few things in this world - or any other - that could summon Anders willingly out of the clutches of a whole clowder of cats (even ones as admittedly strange as those the Dreaming might create). But Hawke's voice is one of them. Or, probably the only one. Even muffled beyond a lot of off-key purring and weird little yipping meows, the cadence is clearly familiar, the same start as always jogging his heart into his throat.

But still, he's careful, as he extracts an arm to gently push aside a couple of sleek and scaly bodies. And finds that he is not mistaken, after all, and that is absolutely Hawke staring down at him - with a mildly perplexed look on his face.

Well. Now he's just embarrassed. ]

I'm - quite all right. [ Pushing aside a few more mewing cat-chimeras, Anders sits up out of the mass (doing nothing to dissuade the cat that curls up in his arms - but they won't last forever, and he intends to make the most of something genuinely pleasant). ] Not in need of any rescuing. They're just a bit... ah, friendlier than I was expecting.

[ But how exactly this happened is just - not important, really. (Not at all.) So he tries to change the subject, ] That thing you're eating is probably more dangerous than they are. Maker, what is that?

[Oh, it's Anders. Instantly Hawke relaxes.]

I should've known it was you the moment I saw the pile.

[He nudges one of the--oh, alright, fine; call them cats--with the toe of his boot, and within seconds has three of them wrestling with the leather. Or trying to, and in the process causing Hawke to wobble. Especially when he takes a second look at the whatever-on-the-stick.]

Whatever it is, it hasn't killed me yet.

[He's fairly sure there's some spindly legs there. He's hoping it's one of those deepsea bugs he's heard Isabela talk about. Lopstars, or ... something.]

Here.

[He sends it sailing end over end toward Anders--quite the feat, with what's rapidly approaching a dozen cats making it difficult for him to stand.]

If you don't feed them soon, they might wind up eating us. Wouldn't my brother love that?

The sword stayed where it was. Fenris's anger didn't; it vanished the moment he heard Hawke's voice behind him. He turned in surprise - and no small amount of relief. Any mage could lead him out of the Fade, but Hawke Fenris would trust completely.

That might be the problem, some part of him thought.

Whatever it was, Fenris ignored it. "Hawke," he said, some of that relief evident in his voice. He made no move to take his hand back. "How did we get here? The last thing I remember is talking with Varric in the Hanged Man. Unless Merrill's Keeper is more insidious than I realised - "

- why was Hawke here? That was convenient, having him appear right as Fenris would have wanted the help. It should have been impossible to enter the Fade without a mage's help, but there was no shortage of mages in Kirkwall. And if there was one thing Fenris learned from the last time, it was that demons liked to play tricks in the Fade.

Now Fenris took his hand back, though he didn't bother trying to put any more distance between them than that. "Are you real?"

This was the man. Anton made a habit of ensuring he could place faces to names, even when he wasn't on the desk when they checked in. But he took note of the half-dodge. Usually only men with reason to need to dodge bothered. It didn't mean that he was a threat; just that he was probably dangerous.

Anton didn't look at the notes. It wasn't his business. Instead he inclined his head without shifting his stance, looking for all the world like a sombre funeral director. A very tall one with a reputation. "Good day. I apologise for the inconvenience, but I must ask you to put out the cigarette, and refrain from smoking inside the Hotel in future."

Kedan with children, especially, didn't appreciate the secondhand smoke, and it was nearly impossible to clean out of the linens, let alone the furniture. There had been a few complaints since the man checked in.

The piece of paper with the scribbles on it, notably, did not burst into flames. Magic was allowed in the Hotel, after all. (If John ever tried to do magic on the walls or furniture, however, he'd find that the insides were extremely difficult to set on fire or otherwise damage.)

John watched the wolf, direworld, big damn dog go trotting across the room without much outer reaction. His scent was one of hidden things, bitter herbs and cigarette smoke that liked to sting the nose. The reek of sweated out alcohol laid beneath that in another way to blind the senses. That one was just a happy coincidence, not done on purpose.

"I can't smoke or drink, but they get to keep pets. I need to complain to management."

Took him a minute to remember Shudder.

"Or I could just keep dodging the Man in Black and doing my own thing."

The second was the likely outcome. John enjoyed flipping off anyone in Authority, but it might be best to keep that activity to when Mr Shudder (or his creepy owl bird) wasn't watching.

Pouring himself a shot from his tea kettle, John tossed it back and saluted the wolf with the empty glass.

"May you piss happily on the things others love. Had a werewolf tell me that was a customary good luck saying. 'Course he was drunk off his furry arse, so take it as you will."

Not that Hawke was complaining about having Fenris's hand, but it occurred to him how little they'd actually touched each other lately. Even when they had to make camp somewhere, Fenris made sure to sleep on the other side. In fact, Hawke realised belatedly, it was very nearly the same action Hawke had done that night--grabbing Fenris, stopping him, making Fenris react in turn. And the thought of that night was distracting, made Hawke's heart beat faster and his skin tingle where they were touched.

Then Fenris pulled away (because of course he did, because he made it perfectly clear that it was done), and Hawke caught his breath. He was thankful, a moment later, that at least his gaze hadn't gone anywhere other than Fenris's face.

"I don't know," he said after a moment, bemusedly. "I'm fairly sure I am, though I'd rather you didn't test the theory by poking me with your sword."

Not that one, anyway.

Hawke's upper brain caught up a moment after that, and his expression turned grim. "You think we're in the Fade?"

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Test Drive Meme | #35

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Midnight Hotel

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