Test Drive Meme | #47

[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: → 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... Let's play cops and robbers! Local law enforcement is handled by the Keeliai Police Department, an organization of both Foreigners and kedan dedicated to keeping the peace in the turtle... and they're about to make a raid on a large, illegal gambling ring! Are you going to collar the nearest bad guy, or are you one of the high rollers now looking to make a quick escape? Or a bookie who's now getting booked downtown? 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?? (Please note: This scenario isn't applicable to becoming game canon if you choose to app your character, as an alien pterosaur attack is a major event.) 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 uncontrollable urge to polish every paving stone in the Earth Sector? Anything goes!

Comments

5; Wait, you want my what?!

[simulsimul]

[New experiences, for Kratos, are not a common occurrence. He's been hoping lately to have more of them than he's had lately (and isn't that hope a new experience in itself?) Being in a crowd who is very interested in him is one he's not sure he wants.

[They seem to be interested in everything about him, too. His clothes, his hair, his sword, his shield, his facial expression ... apparently. Copying it, at least. Some of them are more interested in the contents of his pockets and beltpouches than he could wish.]

I'm not interested in selling.

[He says it over and over again, maneuvering toward the end of the market street -- or trying -- and mostly managing it, if only by dint of being able to forcibly, if gently, move the people in his way out of his way.

[Up until he's distracted by one person insisting that they honestly, truly, have something worth the exchange of his sword -- and someone else lifts Anna's locket from his belt. Kratos almost doesn't notice, except the chain clinks where some of the links have bent, and he knows that sound; too dim for an ordinary human's hearing. But not for his. His head jerks around, his demeanour shifting from stoic exasperation to targeted outrage in an instant.]

Stop!

[He sees startled culprit for a heartbeat before they duck into the crowd, and this time he's slightly less gentle to the people around him as he follows.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[Raine hears a rustling in the next street over, the sound of someone discovering they've been robbed, footsteps and yelling in either alarm or dismay growing louder. Not unfamiliar; but not common, either, not here. She turns around, retracing her steps and going around the correct corner at a good clip. There's a kedan bolting toward her, just free of the crowd. Fleeing, not pursuing, by the glance over the shoulder.]

[Something about one of the nearby mana signatures feels familiar, but there are too many people for Raine to separate it out right now. She sweeps her staff low instead.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos is slower out of the crowd, being much bigger and of the subject of attention, and perhaps some deliberate deterrent. He tries not to hurt anyone on his way out, but of all the things he has on him to lose, the locket is the one he will not. Even if it means a few people wind up on the ground.

[Once he's free of the crowd he can speed up, and does; but before he even reaches the corner he recognises the mana signature on the end, the particular sweep of an unfamiliar staff and the flick of white hair.

[Kratos doesn't give himself time to be surprised. The thief is already on the ground and rolling away from Raine; in two more quick steps Kratos is there, his foot coming down between the thief's shoulders to pin them down before they rise. He immediately regrets it; they cry out and they sound young. Kratos pulls back his foot like it was burned; but then he stoops to pull them to their feet, slightly more gently.]

[ruinsprofessor]

--Kratos?

[Raine's eyes go wide, and she's temporarily too startled by the person in front of her to do anything about the nearly-escaping kedan thief. By the time she has herself recovered, Kratos is handling it, which is-- also familiar.]

[She shakes herself, and rests her staff on the ground.]

...Once you've recovered your property, we should talk.

[Shock past, she's into cool reserve, analyzing. Looking for some sign on Kratos of where in the timeline he might be from, aware that she might not find any.]

[annihilist]

5. Devin is generally quite good at moving through crowds unnoticed - it's a well-honed skill - but this place is new enough that he not only sticks out (in some cases literally, as he's quite tall) but doesn't know the ebbs and flows of the streets. He catches someone's attention before long. Or rather, his dagger does.

As someone brushes against him, Devin catches the attempt to lift it off his person, and grabs the person tightly above the elbow. "If you want to keep that hand-," he says pleasantly, but it has a warning edge to it, "-don't."

10. Well, this is about as undesirable as ever. But every city had certain similarities, and one of those is having a black market. Surely someone is willing to part with some of their blood for the right price? Being a vampire has it's awkward aspects. Devin is currently stalking the streets as the sun goes down, searching for the all too familiar signs that something illicit is going on, occasionally asking furtively where one can find a place that is rather lenient on things like laws.

"I'm looking for someplace... eccentric. Willing to press boundaries," Devin says nebulously to a random bystander.

10

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis turned, lifting her chin and analyzing the man searching for an 'eccentric' place. Tall, dark and handsome, yet his scent, sharp with hints of death and blood, told her he was a foreigner and a strange one at that.

"Someplace willing to press boundaries?" She repeated to discern if his meaning followed the same line as her suspicion.

:D

[annihilist]

Devin took a moment to take in the woman who responded, noting the way she held herself. His eyes narrowed by a fraction.

"That is what I said," he answered tersely. Unfortunately, he was probably not going to get very far without being a little more explicit about his needs. "Somewhere people are willing to part with a portion of their circulatory system for the right price."

10 - Because this has "good idea" written all over it

[edgeoftheknife]

Erskine's been back in Keeliai for a month now, and while he's still not entirely comfortable with traipsing around the city on his own--he strongly suspects he never will be--sometimes it's a necessity. He can't hide in the Hotel anymore, the way he used to when Anton was there. There's no one left to put up with him being the wallflower he'd so desperately like to be again.

He no longer feels the need to wear the hooded jacket he used to use as a shield out in public, however. If the kedan or the Foreigners remember the fire incident, no one seems eager to dredge up those memories. No one seems to feel the need to point fingers anymore. So Erskine's walking through the city in his suit--the one borrowed from Skulduggery so long ago--with his hands in his pockets and his head down, trying to make it back to the shelter before the sun goes down properly.

Which is when he spots the stranger. Erskine can't claim to know all of the Foreigners in the city, if he ever did, but he remembers the way Foreigners look when they're new to Keeliai. They stick out like sore thumbs, mostly. He hasn't heard any of the exchange, he just knows the newcomer looks a bit lost.

"New the city?" he asks, once he's close enough that he doesn't have to raise his voice much to be heard over the crowd.

:V

[annihilist]

Devin looks over at the man, studying him for a moment or two. Like everyone else he's encountered in the city, this man has a heartbeat - it's a bit odd, finding himself apparently alone in that way, but also refreshing.

The vampire appreciates the stranger's appearance, as well, noting in particular the golden eyes. Interesting.

"Guilty as charged," Devin answers. "Although it pains me that it's so obvious."

10

[wolfishflame]

Aly gives this guy a quite epic side-eye. "Mm-hmm...that doesn't sound suspicious at all." She looks a little eccentric herself - a drab olive cloak pinned with a brooch resembling a Japanese maple leaf over what are obviously modern Earth street clothes.

"Lucky for you, bruh, I'm a little eccentric myself. But if you're looking to get off, you'd have more luck in the Fire Sector. This homie don't play that." She shifts, and underneath the cloak a copper-headed mace is revealed.

Hashbrown, no filter.

[annihilist]

This is what he gets for being ambiguous. He studies the young woman's appearance; her clothes appear modern like his own, albeit in an odd contrast with the cloak. The vampire has seen stranger things. He himself is wearing very nondescript clothing that allows for movement, all tending towards darker colors.

"I'm looking for nothing of the sort," Devin replies, eyebrows raised in something like amusement. He spots the mace, and seems entirely unconcerned by it. "But duly noted, for future reference. My needs are somewhat more... nutritionally eccentric, you might say," he adds, grinning and exposing sharp, elongated canines.

10

[gammavirginis]

As the sun goes down, Porrim's supernatural nature becomes more clear as the natural glow of her skin becomes more visible. It's something she's long learned how to 'turn off', but why? It's a good icebreaker, and if you couldn't tell by the way she dresses, she likes being the center of attention.

She's sitting at an outdoor table in the fire sector when Devin approaches her, and she can't help but smile.

"You know, there's a lot of ways to interpret that," she replies. Her smile exposes a familiar pair of fangs between her pierced lips. "Care to narrow it down?"

[annihilist]

He's starting to get used to all the strange appearances around here, so the woman (creature? he can't quite tell what she is and how to describe her) doesn't get much more than a pair of raised eyebrows for her oddities.

The fangs are suggestive of vampirism, but not conclusive. Lots of things had fangs.

"I find that being specific in this case is very off-putting for most people," Devin answers mildly. "It's difficult to get answers when you can't engage in the first place. This is why I prefer conversation to interrogation. But since you asked, I'm looking for someone willing to part with a pint or two of their blood, lest I become unmanageable."

She seemed like the type to at least be aware of his kind, if not among them, and therefore less fearful of his requirements.

5

[byinbitation]

Ah, violence. That's adorable.

It's not about him, but Melek ambles over anyway, just to see what's happening, and takes a moment to consider the scene. Pickpocket versus -- well, someone lacking a heartbeat, which has upped his interest significantly. "That sounds like a promise," he says, leaning far too closely into the tall man's personal space to peer at the hand that might be getting lost. "Is it?"

oh goodie

[annihilist]

Devin peers at the newcomer curiously, and doesn't let go of the would-be thief despite the fact that he's started to struggle in the vampire's grip. The apparent lack of respect for personal space is interesting in it's own right, albeit unwelcome.

"I'm assuming you don't understand the difference between a promise and a threat," he answers after a moment. "However, I can demonstrate if you don't leave me to my business."

10. hello buddy

[dadpire]

That turn of phrase usually meant one of three things, in Baqir's long and storied experience:

1. sex;
2. drugs; or
3. rock and roll that the speaker was a creature like him.

"Asking questions like that is likely to attract the wrong kind of attention, you know," he says, just as nebulously. "Because something that vague doesn't mean that you'll find what you're looking for. Please. Elaborate."

wheee

[annihilist]

Devin takes a moment to take the stranger in, studying him. "Being straightforward doesn't generally win me any favors, either," he counters without venom. "I've often found the seedy underbelly of a place is at least a good start."

Not always, but often. Still, this is a new city and he's found himself in a situation out of his control yet again. Despite his general distaste for relying on other people, he does need the help.

"But since you've asked, I'm looking for someone willing to part with a replenishable portion of their circulatory system." He may as well be blunt. "Blood. And preferably not directly from them."

Narsus - Heroic Legend of Arslan

[karde]

5.
Narsus had arrived with little. Himself, a weapon, his clothes, and a little kit of art supplies that he kept hidden up his sleeve. Not literally, although Daryun would believe that Narsus' sleeves might allow for such concealment, but close on his person. Those supplies weren't much - brushes for the most part, and little canisters of basic pigments - but they were effective for travel.

He had managed to find abandoned wood to use as a canvas, against all odds, and a little purchase had found him a good, slick substance to mix the pigmentation with. A good perch on the street allowed for him to paint, and for some time, Narsus found himself absorbed in his art. The city sounds, the stares, the novelness of it all, nothing filtered in. There was only himself, his brush, and the paint.

Cityscapes like this were new to him. But it was a pleasant surprise that when Narsus pulled his head out of his art bubble, there were people asking what he might want for such a fine piece. It was with a smile that Narsus asked, "Well, what's the usual price for these things?" while noting that he'd need to brag about this to Daryun eventually. When was the last time any of their associates were this eager about one of Narsus' paintings?

9.
The shadow was what got Narsus' attention. It was far bigger than anything he had ever seen before, and that garnered a glance up. seeing what was causing the shadow, he could simply stare. The creature was unlike anything he had seen in Pars, or read about in any books, or imagined in any dream. A giant winged reptile, and even from his pitiful vantage point, there was no mistaking the circling behavior as anything but predatory.

Another flap of wings, and Narsus could see that the thing - he needed a name for it, he couldn't just call it a thing - start to go for the center of the street. His own sword was out in a flash, heavy boots thundering down on the pavement, fighting against the flow of the crowd. There was no question that this thing was dangerous, and no doubt in his mind that it should not be allowed to rejoin the air.

5)

[snowphemisms]

"You've captured it beautifully," Elsa smiled as an aside to Narsus, as the kedan haggled amongst themselves what might be a fair offer. "Especially on such an improvised medium."

[karde]

Narsus shifted so that he could get a look at the speaker. Funny that their hair color was so similar.

His response came with a very wide smile. "Thank you very much. This response is perhaps the best I've ever gotten."

9.

[simulsimul]

It was the mana which got Kratos's attention, even from far overhead; it wasn't precisely the same as the dragons he knew, but like so many things here, it was close enough for him to tell what it was and change his destination. He ran between people, aiming for that sense of mana in the sky, but by the time he could see the dragon dive, he was only to the end of the street -- too far to be of much use.

Unless ...

Kratos spotted the shift of someone battling the flow of the crowd, and the flash of sun on steel. If he could keep the dragon down, that other swordsman would be close enough to take care of it.

Light shone around Kratos's feet, mana gathered at speed as he focussed on the dragon even now swiping at bystanders. Static crackled in his hair, across his clothes, but when he extended a hand to motion toward the dragon the lightning came from the sky, plunging to the earth in the shape of an electrified Sword of Damocles. It struck the dragon's back and dissolved into arcs of electricity which paralysed its wings, and the dragon shrieked as it hit the ground, stunned or injured.

That should be enough for the other swordsman to reach it before it could shake off the blow. The air might be a bit electrified for a while, but given the size of the beast none of it should have hit the bystanders. Nevertheless, Kratos started moving through the crowd toward the dragon, more easily for the berth they were giving him; part of his attention was turned to the sky, in case there were more.

[karde]

Narsus barely processed the additional help. All he knew is that there was a blur followed by a bright flash of light, then the sounds of an injured beast slamming into the ground. The impact caused a roll under the pavement, sending cracks outward through the epicentre. It was enough to nearly cause Narsus to trip over the new fissures, but he caught himself each time.

The change in the air barely registered either, there was only the now flailing and thrashing beast trying to get back into the air. Narsus' first instinct was to stab at the thing's wings, driving his sword down through the flesh. The blood spurt was ignored in favor of repeating the process, causing puncture after puncture.

At the very least, it wouldn't be getting into the air again.

[reluctantaccessory]

[Wildcard??? Let's just see what happens]

Marie could liken, once she was able to ignore the obvious differences, the market to any of the dozens she had spent long hours shopping at in the past. The vendors weren't much different in their behaviors. Some were pushy and willing to rip off the innocent or uninformed with broken bits of junk or random mixes of herbs that did nothing but make one's skin peel or make it itch like poison oak would. Others were much more pleasant to deal with.

The smells mixed with the sounds of children or adults shouting the names of items and prices (or what she believed were those things - the language end of things was still a bit tricky sometimes, though she was lucky that she wasn't entirely without help on a good day). But, she understood this type of life. It was simple. You woke up, you did the daily shopping, you went home and put things away before going to work (or you didn't - there was a long period where she instead "goofed off" after her daily chores and work was not an option), and perhaps picked up a few things on the way home or just took a long walk before going home. Perhaps tonight she would stop by one of the many food stalls, she was woefully behind on trying the local cuisine.

Of course, there were a number of things that she had made mental notes to avoid. Most of those things looked plenty alive when served on plates. Other things smelt "funny" even disgusting enough to make her cast iron stomach turn. There were also a handful of items that she had made similar notes about. The only thing she wished she could figure out how to avoid entirely were the locals who always found a way to flock around her and root through her pockets and bag when she had begun to let her guard slip some.

Though, it was not as much of a shock to her as it was to others, she had been "attacked" more than once in her own world in a like way. It usually took a few sharp words, sometimes a couple of threats from the "scary one" that had been guarding from a distance, and other times she had to give in and let something of her own go to appease the group. It always ended up depending on a few things.

The young woman sighed contently and flipped some of her long blonde hair behind her tattooed shoulder as she kept wandering carrying her now battered blue bag. She had some time to kill, her shopping hadn't taken nearly as long as it would have a short time ago. Or perhaps she just got lucky and didn't need much today. She herself roll her shoulders a few times as they got stiff and she allowed a very bright, though close lipped smile to form.

"Well, this could be worse."

[peridiot]

"What an inane observation."

If Marie turns, she'll see a very unimpressed-looking little person, who can't be more than four feet tall, including her triangle hair. This person is speaking in a snide tone, as though she's not at all surprised that the woman would say something so, well, inane.

She is also green.

[reluctantaccessory]

"Inane?"

The taller woman just lets her eyebrow raise ever so slightly at the sight of what seemed to be a humanoid stringbean. Then she shakes her head slightly and then retorts with "Mind me asking what's so inane about it? Especially if I wasn't making it for someone else's benefit."

Marie then sighs. That was probably a little sharp even for her, but at the same time she can't help but feel a little bit "come on, that was just rude" about this whole situation.