Test Drive Meme (June + July)

[bravenewmods]

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!

Comments

[peripeteia]

[ Elizabeth moves through crowds with shocking ease, considering how unfamiliar she is with them. she never stumbles and she doesn't collide with people. the way she brushes past is almost natural, like she really could belong here. maybe it's just the energy of the place, the way it feels alive in every part of her, right down to her fingertips - she turns and twirls along with everyone else, dances even when she hears no music, passes by every person with a smile, a light touch, a skip in her heart because she is here, she is here—

she steps through a flurry of people headed in the other direction, and she sees him. Fleur gives a startled cry at her sudden shift in emotion.

it isn't the first time for her, either. she has so desperately wanted to know what became of the man who saved her, hoping that he was alright. and so she had always been looking for him, just a hint, everywhere she went. it was never him. the right haircut. similar clothes. like chasing some dream figment, except he has to have been real because she's here. sometimes she would think to herself, absurdly, that she wanted to know him. to understand him.

now that she sees him - really, really sees him, not a glimpse from behind or a flash of dark hair in a crowd - she isn't sure what to do. ]

Is that— [ she approaches him with slow steps, not tentative with caution but with disbelief. ] ... Is it really you?

[dontdewitt]

[ Now this is harder to ignore. Impossible, even. He looks up, and there she is, like ... like she'd just been out of sight for a minute, went looking for some thing or another. He feels like a ten foot drop opened under him. But he also feels like he should be thanking... someone. Booker has never believed in much of anything, or at least not enough for it to matter, but right now, he feels like he owes whoever kept her safe a far greater debt than money.

Before he knows it he's let the bottle slip out of his hand and gotten to his feet, two steps quick and then faltering. And he nods, not daring to take his eyes off her for an instant. ]

Yeah.

[ When did she become this important? Well, whenever it happened, there it is. ]

I, uh. I'm glad you made it.

[peripeteia]

I...

[ with that confirmation - here, they're both here - her hesitation vanishes.

her first laugh is surprised, cut short. she touches her fingers to her lips, smiling. and then it blooms into full delight as she closes a little more of the remaining distance between them; she laughs, breathless, looks at him with relief and something like wonder. a miracle twice over now, to have saved her from the tower and to just reappear like this, alive and real. she takes one of his hands in her right, Fleur cradled close in her left arm. ]

Oh, me too! Thank the gods you're alright, I— How did you get out of there?

[dontdewitt]

[ And she takes his left, uninjured hand in hers. Thinks, look at how happy she is. Look at how naive she is, how new to... to everything. His expression is wry, but he can't help being (tentatively) relieved that whatever she went through didn't leave her jaded. Still, with a huff, he drops his eyes from hers as he answers. ]

Trust me, you don't wanna hear it.

[ She's already called him a monster. He doesn't look or sound apologetic. A beat. ]

What about you?

[peripeteia]

[ ah. violence, then. she's had plenty of time to think about the things he did, the things she saw in Gigas, and she's found that... how can she blame him for the things it took to get out of there? no, she never wanted anyone to die, but he had been right. whoever locked her up wasn't going to let her walk out of there without a fight. whatever had to be done for the both of them to make it out alive, it was done because of her. a monster wouldn't have gone so far to save her.

and things are different now. it's over, isn't it? she's free, and they're safe. ]

I'm small enough that I made it the rest of the way without anyone seeing me. From there... I suppose I was just lucky. Some people from the city of Union found me, and they took me back with them.

[ she remembers that she's still holding his hand, and drops it a little reluctantly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear instead. it's silly, but she can't help feeling like he's going to disappear suddenly. she makes herself take a small step back, anyway, to give him some space. ]

Have you ever been? Everyone there is so kind, and they care so much about the other settlements. I'm sure it's a nice change from Gigas, anyway.

[dontdewitt]

I haven't, but I heard about 'em.

[ He knows they helped Caldera hold out against Gigas forces. He knows they like to seem as if they're pacifists, however true that may be. Place like that isn't so easy to believe in. Maybe not for her, though. ]

Can't imagine I'd be welcome there.

[ Not if they know where he's from. ]

[peripeteia]

I'm sure they wouldn't turn you away.

[ and if he wouldn't go there, or they wouldn't take him in... what then? she doesn't know what this is, what the two of them are doing, but she knows that she doesn't want to leave him. and— well, she wants to see it all, doesn't she? that's not going to happen if she stays in one city all the time. ]

But there are other places. [ it's soft, but deliberate in a way that says this is important; that tells him I will go there with you. ] Besides, I can hardly find my mystery city just sitting around in Union.

[dontdewitt]

[ This is what he wanted, isn't it? A clean slate. With her, though? Elizabeth looks so much like Annabelle that he keeps having to doublecheck, but he can't delude himself. She can't be his daughter. Him wanting to be near her is only selfishness on his part.

He doesn't deserve it at all. But on the other hand... well, where else does he have left to go now, as far as civilisation goes? So he falters for a moment, shoulders sinking. When he smiles, there's little lightness to it, and more resignation. But he smiles all the same. ]

No, guess not.

[ This feels like what he was meant to be doing. Booker doesn't bother questioning it much. He straightens, gestures at their surroundings. People are still milling all around, without interrupting the reunion. ]

This place seems up your alley.

[ Aside from the fighting, perhaps. ]

[peripeteia]

[ drawing attention back to their surroundings gets an excited gasp from her, and a happy noise from her Ralts companion as Elizabeth's feelings shed any complexity and just shift to pure joy. a delighted undercurrent of he didn't say no, he didn't say no that gets caught up in all the rest. ]

I know! Isn't it pretty? Everything here is so alive. And - dancing! [ she laughs. ] I never imagined I would actually see a place like this!

[dontdewitt]

You been dancing with 'em?

[ Now that they don't have to be running anywhere, he finds he doesn't mind the thought. ]

[peripeteia]

Of course!

[ even if it hadn't been something she had been looking forward to, she doesn't think she could have resisted being swept up in all the energy of this city. ]

Should I even ask if you have?

[dontdewitt]

Yeah uh, don't bother.

[ He shakes his head, all in (wry) good humor. ]

What about your new friend there?

[ - That you're holding on to like a toy. The remark is accompanied by a gesture towards the Ralts. ]

[peripeteia]

Oh! I'm sorry, this is Fleur. [ she adjusts her hold so that Fleur is sitting more comfortably in Elizabeth's arms, instead of being clutched to her chest. ] We met in Union city. I think she must have... sensed my emotions, and come to see what all the fuss was about.

[ she shrugs, and her smile there is a little helpless. it turns out that reading about Pokémon doesn't really prepare you for anything outside a tower, especially when Union adds the whole bonding process into the mix. ]

[dontdewitt]

[ He doesn't expect Fleur to like him much, if she can sense what people feel. He's not even used to the idea of treating Pokémon as anything other than weapons or assets, but he looks the ralts over curiously. ]

So it does work without the Pokéballs.

[peripeteia]

Mm. I haven't figured out how exactly it works yet, but it's part of Union's technology? They have these "Warp Bands", and they... they make it so that humans and Pokémon can understand each other. It's not a capture, it's a partnership.

[ it would have been hard to believe, if she hadn't already seen how the people of Union interacted with their Pokémon. from there, she had simply thought of course. of course she would never have heard about such a method while she was in Gigas. she wonders if they would even take the opportunity, if it were available to them, or if they would still choose subjugation. ]

Maybe that says the most about the kind of place Union is.

[dontdewitt]

It does.

[ He has no idea how to live in a place like that. If it's even as ideal as she's making it sound - all that means is that there shouldn't be room for him, that he shouldn't be welcome there. ]

Guess I'll see for myself soon.