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test drive

Test Drive Meme (June + July)

TEST DRIVE MEME: JUNE + JULY EDITION

Welcome to

bravenewworld's test drive meme! This post is designed to help players test out their characters within the setting, as well as give them an opportunity to collect samples for their future application. The prompts below are all optional, and can be used to get a feel for the game, but we encourage players to get creative and use this post however best suits their needs. Players are encouraged to use either first person or third person for their threads.

When creating a thread, it is advised that players give their prospective thread partners a bit of information in the subject line, such as the characters name and canon, or a possible typing and Enlightened ability (if this is applicable). These are not required, but will make it easier for any prospective players to thread with you.

THIS CYCLE'S PROMPTS
#1 Refuge has opened its gates to the people of Union, Caldera and Citadel, in the most hospitable way they feel possible: A party. Some have come to explore the expansive underground city, but mostly, word has spread about how Refuge's brews are on point. They don't seem to discriminate on age, either.

#2 The city of Caldera is starting a major production project and they need workers. The forges are constantly going day and night and the pay's good, but it's hot, hard work that'll leave you tired and achy to say the least.

#3 The Summer Solstice festival has begun in Citadel. The tree is in full bloom, with flowers of every color dot its branches. This week-long celebration brings together the various tribes that call Citadel its home through music, dancing and, of course, fighting. There is a tournament set to begin, boasting some of the strongest Valkyries that Citadel has ever known among the combatants.

#4 The heat has really gotten to the people of Union, and as a result many have moved south for a weekend get-away in the Archipelago and the larger Island. The sand is warm and the water is too, but doesn't the beach seem a bit crowded for a once seemingly deserted area?

#5 Wildcard! Come up with your own prompt!

If you have any setting questions, or want to do some reading before posting a thread, you can find the setting directory here! Happy tagging!

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((OOC: tl;dr from over here: far from ordinary with a water bias and mastery of evolution, from Union, record keeper.))

#1

[He shouldn't be here. It doesn't matter how many drinks there might be or how rare an occasion or how little he's left the city in weeks, he should turn right around and leave. Go home. Right now. One foot and then the next. Just go before anything else happens.

Like his Poliwag flopping out of his warp band and heading towards the many, many drinks. That kind of anything.]

Hey! Polly! Get back here!

[He'll just catch her and go home. That's all, he swears.]

#4

[He's standing in the surf. He hasn't even bothered to put on a swimsuit, just wearing his normal clothes, water reaching his ankles and rising. Sometimes he watches the clouds roll above him, or looks out to some far distance where the waves gather and build or some nearer one where they break into foam. Either way, he's lost in it now.

Somewhere nearby, the Poliwag splashes around and makes a fuss. Maybe he's ignoring it. Maybe he doesn't notice. It all comes down to the same thing in the end, so why does it matter what the reason is?]

Edited 2015-06-23 00:26 (UTC)

[ Jack doesn't know if he trusts himself enough to drink, if it might make his many problems even worse and turn this party into the most unpleasant kind of winter - but he's really, really tempted, so he's been hanging around the drinks table and debating with his Duskull about the pros and cons of being a complete idiot. because if he decides to actually do it, that is undeniably what he is; he doesn't even have any other Enlightened friends around to keep an eye on him and kick him outside if the temperature starts to drop.

he hears James' shouting and turns, laughter bubbling up as he sees the Poliwag waddling towards the drinks. ]

Oh, no you don't. [ he crouches down and scoops her up gently; his hands are cold, he knows, but at least that shouldn't be too bad to a Water-type. ] Sorry, buddy, but I think someone's trying to get your attention.

[James peels to a stop before the drinks table. A little out of breathe, not too bad. Hasn't been looking long, too, that's lucky. He'll just get Polly back from--- from this stranger, and go home, and that'll be the end of it. Yes.]

Oh, thank you. Sometimes... she can be a bit of a troublemaker. [He guesses that's what you'd call it.] I... could I have her back now? [He holds his arms open. Please don't run for it.]

[ sheesh, this guy's twitchy. obviously not much of a party type, either. he'd like to do something to put him at ease, or get some cheer in him ideally, but... nervous ones are tricky. nervous kids, no problem; nervous adults feel a little more like walking on eggshells than Jack is normally comfortable with. ]

A troublemaker, huh? She sounds like our kind of girl. [ he grins over his shoulder at the Duskull hovering behind him, and it makes a raspy, rattling noise, eyes curved with a smile. ] Uh, he's laughing. Some people get kind of creeped out by the sound, but - it's a laugh.

[ ... right, he's still holding the Poliwag. ] Oh! Right, here she is. All yours.

[ he goes to hand her over, perhaps with a tiny moment of hesitation; he's so used to every small touch being something that has to sustain him for a week, maybe longer, before he'd get the chance again. taking a kid by the hand, or pulling them in against his chest to shield them in a snowball fight - little fleeting things that he'd miss again as soon as they were over. he can't cradle Duskull like this either, something solid and real.

but it's not like that anymore, and he just has to remember that. he actually lives in a city now, and there are people that aren't afraid of what he is. anyway, he can't just hold onto this guy's friend, that would be weird. ]

[His eyes trail to the alcohol and he forces them away. Stop prolonging this. The longer he stands here chatting, the harder it will be to turn his back and go.

A little conversation, though, that won't... and he did find Polly for him...

James shakes his head, clearing whatever internal debate's going on out of it.] She showed up... a few years ago now, and, well, she's... been hard to ignore ever since. [Oh. Uh. That's... that's laughter?] Oh. I guess-- I don't really know too many... that's a ghost, isn't it?

[It's been awhile since he'd gone exploring out there. Since--

Too long. A few months. A lifetime. What's the difference? The seconds pass like hours, all of them spent staring at the floors of waiting rooms and the empty side of a bed.]

I don't usually go out like this, uh, that often.

[He holds the Poliwag to him. A remnant of what may as well be another life. She fidgets in his grasp, maybe a little too tight, until he loosens up, and she clambers up until she's sitting on his shoulder.]

Oh, I can tell. [ no matter how nervous the guy is, Jack can only hold back sarcasm for so long. ] It seems like a lot of people turned up for this, though. I'd feel weirder sitting around in an empty city than knocking a few elbows.

[ but it might feel safer, too. every time he gets a chill he has to remind himself where the exit is and get ready to make a run for it. honestly, who builds a city underground, anyway? that's just asking for trouble. ]

Hey, watch it. [But he doesn't have anything to argue his point. He's a little obvious, isn't he? So, instead of sulking, he keeps talking.] But... it's almost like... nobody'd really... blame you for coming, right?

[Right. Nobody.

Nobody at all.]

[ he eyes James with - not caution, but a certain awareness. he knows that kind of lost, trailing speech; the vague hint at something bigger, more personal. there's no way he's going to ask about it. it just won't hurt to be prepared for the guy to sink into the kind of brooding Jack sometimes does when he starts talking like that. ]

I don't know if anyone would blame you for coming anyway, but - yeah, I mean. It's a big deal, right? Refuge is trying to be open and everything, people want to see what all the fuss is about.

[He looks to the stone floor, slightly to the left. Cavern floor, same difference. He comes to some sort of conclusion, and when he does, he looks back up.]

I should... bring something back with me, I think.

[A souvenir. Maybe for work. Once in a lifetime opportunity like this. Who could pass it up?]

Sounds like a plan. What're you thinking, rocks?

[ Duskull thinks Jack's teenage attitude is hilarious, apparently, given the rattling. this is definitely why Jack brings him along everywhere. ]

It'd have to be a pretty big rock.

[The joke sails completely over his head. Whoops.]

... Wait, y— Are you for real? [ he's not sure if this is funny or just pathetic. weird might be a good compromise. ] You'd actually take a rock as a souvenir?

[He shrugs and shuffles his feet.]

Well. It's... it depends on the rock?

[Something only Refuge would have.]

You're not getting a rock. I'm not gonna let you take a rock back to Union. [ maybe he can't cheer an adult up with a handful of snow to the face, but he can at least fix this. and maybe it will make this guy less... whatever he is. ] We're looking for something cool.

It's not really... that important, is it? [It's just a, well, it's for work. Right?] And hold on a second, I never--

[Whatever 'he never' is lost to the poliwag bouncing on his shoulder. Guess somebody's gotten a bit excited.]

Fine, I guess... what did you have in mind, anyway?

Edited 2015-06-24 17:21 (UTC)

No ideas yet! That's why I said looking, duh.

[ do you regret this conversation yet, James. do you regret teenagers. ]

Your friend seems like she's up for a little search expedition too, so I guess it's three against one! Come on, it'll be fun.

[He regrets teenagers so much. You don't even know.]

I don't really have much of a choice, do I? I mean, if it's all... decided, anyway.

[Before he gets morose, though, he'll start looking for a more worthwhile memento. Whatever it might be.]

[ Cress has decided to go for a swim. since the ducklett is still more prickly around people than she really ought to be, Bilbo is fully encouraging this, given how there's much fewer people in the water than on the beach itself. less trouble for him, less trouble for everyone else, and Cress actually gets to enjoy herself.

... well, until her swim takes her a little too close to where James and Polly are hanging out, in any case. upon which she suddenly stops looking elegant and assumes the "menacing wingbeating" position, honking affrontedly as if they're the ones who came close to her and not the other way around. ]

Now, Cress, for goodness' sake! Leave the poor gentleman alone. [ Bilbo, his trousers rolled up to above his knees and his shirt sleeves in much the same state, puffs over to his Pokemon and crouches next to her, deftly avoiding the wingbeating. ] Really, you only have yourself to blame for going near them in the first place.

[ he looks up at the man, face apologetic and a little embarassed. ]

I do apologise for her, she's a bit twitchy-- oh. James Sunderland, isn't it?

[Huh what--- Oh. He hops back from the menacing ducklett, sending some water splashing up. Polly, on the other hand, has decided to blow a jet of water at the intruder. Nyeh nyeh! Just try and catch her, suckers! She ducks back under the waves, swimming as fast as its little tail can push.

James holds his hands out, placatingly, backing away from them. Just a little.] Does this... happen a lot?

[He'd have his head in his hands, but that gesture won't float here. He pushes some -- now soppy -- hair out of his eyes, instead.] Uh, yeah, that's me. You're... I think I know you... it's Bilbo, right?

[ Cress honks even louder at the water jet, apparently taking that as some kind of personal insult. luckily, she also takes Polly's swimming away as surrender, and contents herself with hissing menacingly in the other Pokemon's direction before settling down a bit, eyeing James with a beady eye.

Bilbo rolls his own eyes at these antics and shakes the water from his hair. ]

To answer both of your questions, yes. This one's not as bad as she used to be, but she's dreadfully anti-social and seems to think I'm her mum. [ he sighs, but there's some fond mixed in with the Done. ] But yes, Bilbo Baggins at your service. Apologies for interrupting your peace and quiet, goodness knows there's not much of it here...

[James does his best to not look the duck in the eye. Don't want to accidentally issue a challenge or anything. He tries to keep track of Polly, though, in case she decides to make another run at things. Wouldn't be the first time.]

I know what you mean. [Sighs deeply.] Polly's... she never seems to listen to a thing you tell her, and she's always getting into trouble. [Honestly.]

I'm... a little surprised it lasted as long as it did. [Depending how long he's been out here.]

Ah, I know the type. [ best never introduce her to Teasel, actually, or the murkrow would probably have a relapse. ] She might just need something constructive to focus on, you know.

Mm, it's very, well, lively here right now. Feels like the entire city's come out here and then some.

You think so? [Never thought of that. Maybe part of him likes the trouble, too.] Things have been... difficult lately, but maybe... I could find some time. [He found time for this, didn't he?]

[Let's talk about something else. He doesn't want to be asked what's wrong right now. He wouldn't be here, if he did.]

It's too hot to do anything else, I think. Maybe the crowd'll thin when the sun goes down...

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Test Drive Meme (June + July)

TEST DRIVE MEME: JUNE + JULY EDITION

James Sunderland | Silent Hill 2

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4 (assuming vague prior meeting okay? :D)

okay :D

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