justhugalready | Test Drive Meme!

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*test drive meme

Test Drive Meme!

Welcome to the Rekindle Test Drive!
Trying to see if a character will fit or work in the setting? Need some interaction samples? Well this meme is for you!

Make a post, tag around, and most importantly, have fun! Here's the setting page for those who want to learn a little more about the city itself.

~~Then don't forget to go reserve your character, GO GO GO.......~~

Here's some prompts to help you get started, if you need it:

Option 1

[The mid-summer rays are beginning to subside at last, giving way to a few cooler breezes here and there as the sun begins to set and the moons rise in the sky. So what does that mean? Well, for the locals, it means it's time to begin preparations for the autumnal festival! The reds, oranges, and yellows take on a more rustic tone in the streets as the venders set up their outdoor marketplace stands, selling all kinds of treats and delicacies.

From fresh corn and pretzels, to strange fruits that may look like those from home (although different in color, not taste), these vendors seem to have it all! Though in a few stands, it seems as though there are snacks and desserts meant to be split in two or shared with another. They also seem to be very fond of giving discounts to couples...

Oh, my...]

Option 2

[Everything on the riverbank seems to be the norm for every other day: Vendors renting out innertubes for two, others selling ice cream and watermelon during the still warm days, and even a few water balloons still being tossed around or kept hidden nearby.

At night, however, there seems to be a gathering at the water's edge as some hold little paper lanterns, aglow with small candles inside them as they gleam golden in the moonlight. The locals say that wishing on them as you let them float into the air brings you good luck, and makes that wish come true. But that's just a silly rumor, isn't it?

At least it's pretty, along with the small candles floating on the water's surface...]

Option 3

[It doesn't matter where you are or what you were doing. All that matters is you've suddenly been hit with the chills (or did the temperature suddenly skyrocket?) and they don't seem to be going away just yet.

Yep. Those wacky scientists seem to be at it again... At least it should pass soon, but whether it be chills or being far too hot, maybe you should...find someone else with this problem. After all, even the face of the medical community says that it will only be fixed by hugging or holding someone's hand.]

Option 4

[Whoops. Looks like you haven't taken the cautionary words of the other NPCs to heart, or maybe you just wanted to take your chances. Either way, the withdrawal symptoms have started and you need to find someone to hug quickly before you get even more sick.]

Option 5

[If there's something else you wanted to play with, that you didn't see here, then have fun with that. You've just arrived in a strange city, after all. There's got to be plenty to explore out and about, not to mention people to meet.]

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Emotions. Pepper Potts had always had them under complete control, always maintained a firm grip on them. From resisting the urge to kiss her former boss (when he was still her boss) to keeping herself from punching said former boss for numerous annoyances (infractions, inconveniences, and intentional oogling), the former PA turned CEO had always been able to maintain a level of calm that was downright miraculous if not completely angelic.

That mask was beginning to slip, no, not slip, slough off completely as her body sought to cope with the roiling chemical something that was trying to change her DNA against its will. She seemed to always feel angry, and had never before been this angry, not even after Tony had gone and gotten himself shot up in Afghanistan. Not even after the 127th time he had gone and done so. As the beautiful and relaxing visage of the gardens filled her view, Pepper decided that there was nothing rational or reasonable about the rage that filled her, it was simply a symptom of her condition - a condition she couldn't let anyone, much less Tony, know about.

That had been an unexpected blessing in disguise, when she had realized that while Tony was here, he didn't seem to know about her kidnapping or what had been done to her until she had suddenly appeared in this crazy city. It was lucky right? Whatever strange amnesia or...time travel, had blotted out the worst of what Pepper had already experienced; it was better that Tony didn't know, right? Better to figure this thing out alone, to try and control it, or else end like so many of the other test subjects had, a fiery inferno, only alone. Pepper would at least make sure she didn't take anyone else with her.

And that was why she had come here, to this relaxing place. Here, maybe, she could find solitude and control, find a way to quell the ebb and flow of the unpredictable rage that burned within her. Maybe- but there was a sound on the path behind her, and Pepper turned, trying to extinguish the flare of inner fire that began to build with the moment of surprise.

"Who's there?" Blue eyes flamed red with momentary emotion until she managed to swallow and contain the flood that sought freedom.

Since the opening of the newest district, Loki had taken to spending a portion of each day at the small temple and its garden. The solitude it afforded was incomparable anywhere else in the city. Having been provided private rooms, he had hoped to be able to find the quiet he needed there, but he had learned that to have been too great an expectation.

The rooms were tiny, nearly unlivable, little better than servant's quarters in truth. The walls were thin, doing little and less to prevent noise contamination from the hall and the other rooms. It was far from an environment conducive to his purposes.

In his explorations of the city, he had come upon this building, a haven from the crowds elsewhere. Only rarely did it draw other visitors, and those also appearing to seek the serenity offered. It was very nearly a perfect place to concentrate on seeking out the magic of Saeng Seong.

Today he arrived to find another come before him. Unlike the other occasional patrons of the garden, however, this woman turned at his tread, confrontational, and addressed him, breaking the silence that always held sway upon this place.

Pausing on the path yet some distance from her, Loki replied, "I'm sorry, it appears I have disturbed you." She should be apologizing to him, of course. She should be grovelling at his feet, professing her shame for disrespecting this, his sanctuary. There was so much he need put up with here.

Her brow furrowed, familiarity blossoming slightly in her eyes before being drenched in confusion. This, no, it couldn't be. There was no way. He didn't look quite the same, not as wild, as worn as the pictures she had seen.

And yet, there was no way Pepper couldn't recognize the man (or was it god?) who had tried to conquer her world and destroy everything she loved and nearly had succeeded in killing someone she held very dear.

Lips thinned as she turned around fully, a slow motion of wariness that didn't bother to mask the tension in her frame. Red glow flared along one cheek, slid down her neck before disappearing. His name was Loki, Pepper remembered from the files, from what little the news had gleaned before everything was hushed up by Agent Coulson and his-

Oh wait.

The realization was almost as instantaneous as the burst of flames that was suddenly washing the tightened fists at her sides with potent glow. Red veins blossomed on her face, blue eyes were suddenly consumed by aching darkness ringed with fire.

"You." Pepper's voice was dull as ash, impending violence consuming any emotion that would normally form her pleasant, calm demeanor. The anger rushed through her, heady and terrible, and she staggered even as she glared in utter hatred, a hatred that was tempered to extreme levels beyond what any normal human would ever feel. She was confused and angry, and warm, and alight...she felt like a bonfire barely contained by flesh and bone.

Tony, well, panicked when he couldn't find Pepper. After three months of being in this place without her, he was so, so tired of being lonely, and thinking about her being gone again made his heart race against the metal wall of the arc reactor in a way he wasn't really used to feeling.

She had to still be here.

He was in the suit and out the window almost immediately, flying over each district, searching the buildings, the Sacred Gardens being naturally his last stop. Tony slipped out of the armor, leaving it outside while he searched the old temple. It was with no small amount of relief that he noted the head of ginger hair amongst the green, and he picked up his pace--until she turned, and oh, he may not remember her birthday ~~half~~ most of the time or her favorite color, but he definitely knew her eyes were not supposed to match her hair.

"Babe?" He hesitated only a fraction of a second, because that's about as long as Tony Stark is capable of questioning himself. "Hey, Pep. What's up, whatcha doing here?"

"Tony." His name left her lips in something that was a troubled cocktail of relief, uncertainty, and a chaser of despair that she couldn't quite hide. She tried to keep her happiness first and foremost, after all, despite all and everything, Pepper loved him with an unreasonableness that matched the existence of their relationship at all. But there was also a hint of fear in her eyes, a silent wonder in her heart if she would unintentionally free the power in her she didn't even understand completely much less have any idea how to control.

Science was Tony's business, and Maya's, and Killian's. The name in her mind brought a flare of red, just a slight glow along her jaw as it tightened, a barely perceivable blaze of scarlet that didn't quite tangle with her hair. She was dressed simply at that, hair loose to cover such outbursts, an outfit that would be considered yoga attire for many people, just to get in the mood for relaxation - which apparently was never going to happen.

"Oh. You know, just...looking around." The excuse was weak even to her ears, all convincing tone eaten up by the slow burn inside her, and the need to try and suppress it. Yet she managed a smile, faltering though it was. "I'm still getting my bearings." Hopefully he would excuse her tone for that, her discomfort for disorientation.

"This is a beautiful place, isn't it?" Hopefully that would forestall any further questions about her condition.

"Aah, sure," Tony replied lamely, looking around somewhat uncertainly. He'd really never been an outdoorsy kind of guy, aside from enjoying the wind on his face while driving a sparkling red convertible. But that technically was cars, and Tony was definitely a cars guy.

"Yeah, beautiful. I guess. Why not."

He studied Pepper's expression with a furrowed brow. She sounded off, like something was wrong. But if something was wrong, she'd tell him. Right? Maybe. Not like he'd ever caught her hiding something from him. At least not something bad. Something that would make her look like that. The thought process resulted ultimately in only a Concerned Tony Face.

Tony went to her, taking one of her hands in his and placing the other hand on her waist.

"Hey," he said softly. "It's more beautiful over here."

If Pepper looked at him, she'd have seen the ghost of a grin on his face, because yes, he knew exactly how bad that line was.

While Tony was speaking, Pepper was desperately trying to reel in both her growing anxiety and bring to heel her unwanted anger. Unfortunately both were mounting within her, due to the seeming futility of this place and the helpless position her unexpected condition put her in. Never before had she wanted to avoid the man she loved so unconditionally, not even after his suit had unintentionally attacked her, or that time he had told the entire world their address, or that time-

Distracted, she didn't realize he had approached her until he was already there, her thoughts turned inward and her need for control muting awareness of the world around her. With the sudden touch came a startled gasp, eyes coming up to his in frantic surprise.

Then the sleeves of her yoga shirt started on fire.

To Tony's credit, he didn't jerk away. Whether that was due to a certain lack of appropriate response to danger he possessed or an utter unwillingness to let Pepper go or perhaps a combination of both was unclear.

He looked down at the flames licking up Pepper's sleeves with a look of... mostly confusion, really, and mild alarm. Well. That was new. Tony Stark was known for his razor-sharp wit and intelligent quips, but no joke sprang to mind now. Pepper was a constant, someone who could surprise him but only in certain ways, someone who was a lighthouse in the storm that was his life, and Pepper did not just randomly burst into flames.

A questioning "Uh, babe?" was all he could muster.

Tony's answer would have to wait as Pepper sought to simultaneously calm herself as well as beat out the flames eagerly trying to consume the synthetic fabric. The sports-like outfit they had dressed her in for the procedure was highly flame retardant, not unexpected considering what Extremis did to people, but normal clothing wasn't so lucky.

"Hang on." Her voice shook as she divested herself of Tony's hands, pulling away enough so she could slap at the flames with trembling palms. She winced at the pain, the skin of her hands instantly showing the result of touching the kindling fire. But at the same moment the burns were created they began to glow a painful orange all their own, unrelated to the flames. Pepper gritted her teeth as Extremis did its work on her flesh and her fingers and palms took care of the few remaining embers.

The sleeves of her shirt were in burnt rags now, but that seemed to matter little to Pepper as she put a hand to her forehead, drawing a long slow breath as she tried to cool her thoughts and body. So...warm...

"Tony. There's something wrong with me." She looked up at him, blue eyes frightened but also smoldering at the edges, like strange coals made of sapphire. Her chest heaved silently as she tried to fight sobs with slow relaxed breaths. The process looked as if it was only half working. "I-I know that's the understatement of the year... God... I don't know how to explain. You, you don't know anything here - and I don't understand why."

Steve was always a bit of an explorer in this city, wanting to see if he could find new information or at the very least, get himself familiar with the various locations. He didn't want to be caught unaware in a place he didn't recognize, so he took it upon himself to walk around the new district. Of course, he didn't know everything about Saeng Seong still, but he was trying.

The new district wasn't anything too unusual, a park, a pond, a gym (which he was definitely going to try out sometime), but the Sacred Gardens was definitely something that stood out to him. It was quiet with unusual architecture, a place that he could really come to appreciate. Just a nice area to think and draw, which was why he had his sketchbook with him.

He was shuffling down the path when he noticed Pepper, soon to become startled as she rounded at him with red eyes. T-that definitely didn't seem normal, although Steve had seen a lot in his time here. Magic, aliens, giant robots, so this shouldn't be a surprise... However, he still couldn't stop himself from tightly clenching his sketchbook for a moment as he answered her.

"O-oh, I'm sorry if I bothered you at all, ma'am." Steve tried to be polite, although he was a little nervous as well. She didn't look too happy and fiery red eyes would be intimidating on anyone.

The sigh of relief left her lips softly, though her inner sigh was much more profound. The youth who approached didn't look a threat - though Pepper was a bit more wary in the department of who or what was a threat after recent experience - in fact he seemed the exact opposite. And familiar, he seemed awfully familiar. Had she seen him somewhere before.

"Ah, hello." The red-head gave a weary shrug. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm still a little jumpy, I haven't been here very long." Pepper gave an apologetic smile, though it wavered a little from the stress she was under.

"You're not bothering me. Did you come to see the gardens too?"

Some tension left his shoulders when he realized that she wasn't going to harm or anything like that. She still looked a little stressed, but Steve figured that wasn't anything unusual around here, especially since they were in a city that was far from home. So, he smiled a little, waving off her apology.

"No need to apologize, know how this place could take a while to get used to. Um, it's not everyday we're taken from our homes and arrive in a city that requires physical touch, right?" At least he hoped not, but Steve had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. Happens around women a lot too.

"But yes, I did, I actually draw-" He held up his sketchbook a little, as if to show proof for his comment. "Thought that the gardens and temple would be swell places to sketch." It was sorta of a hobby of his, just drawing things that he liked or just his emotions about something in general.

"So that wasn't just a bad joke." Pepper murmured half under her breath, unconsciously responding to Steve's description of this world's feel-good requirements. The information sent another few streams of fiery red streaming up her neck, as she tried to hold back her mounting anxiety. Normally the idea of physical touch was anything but abhorrent to the friendly CEO, but when every waking moment (and even some sleeping ones) made you feel like a bomb about to explode.

The red-head swallowed and tried to shove her worries aside, drawing upon years of practiced courtesy to mask her unsettled emotions. She offered Steve another smile, and tried to focus on why he seemed so familiar and yet not. "That's a great idea. I would try, but I'm not very artistic. I'm more of a paperwork sort of person." Her smile grew a little as she felt herself in more certain waters. "I'm Pepper, by the way. And you are...?"

"Afraid not, ma'am. Seen the symptoms when people don't get enough contact around here, it's not pretty." It didn't happen too often, thankfully, but he saw people that became feverish and nauseous. He himself had avoided that, but he had enough illnesses of his own to worry about anyway. Speaking of which, Steve noticed the red streams crawling up her neck, and he wondered if she had a... condition of sorts. Or was that her power? It was difficult to say around here.

However, he didn't ask about it yet. "Not much of an artist myself." He was being modest, but Steve wasn't one to flaunt his abilities. "But it's nice to meet, Miss Pepper. I'm Steve Rogers."

"It's nice to meet you as well Mr. Rogers." Her brow furrowed a little in thought as she continued to look at him, her expression slightly puzzled.

"We haven't met before, have we? You look really familiar." She knew she should ask about the symptoms he was talking about, any sort of heads up about what she could expect would be welcome, but being unable to place a name to a face was bothering her. Usually she had almost perfect memory when it came to such things, it was what had made her so useful to Tony who so clearly often didn't remember his social security number much less a person's name.

She seemed nice enough, although Steve wondered why she kept looking at him like that. It wasn't a disgusted expression at least, but Pepper definitely looked curious and almost confused in a way. He wasn't sure what to say or do about that, evident in the way he stood around in a little awkward manner, so he was glad when she brought it up herself.

"Um, I don't believe so. If I'm honest, I haven't spoken to many women before coming here." It was a little odd that he looked familiar to someone. He didn't know many people that looked like him for one thing. But this place did bring in people from parallel Earths and different time periods, so it might be possible. Mr. Stark was apparently from his future and normally reminded him of that whenever he saw him.

"I feel sorry for the ladies where you come from then." Pepper said, smiling. "You're very charming, Mr. Rogers." As she continued pleasantries, her mind continued to work, trying to recall this misplaced face. His name had jolted something in her memories, a brief flicker of more than I 'must have just seen him on the internet'.

"Have you ever been on tv?" Her voice was apologetic as well as curious, she just couldn't let something like this go, her reputation as a former PA depended on it.

"T-thank you, Miss Pepper. That means a lot coming from a beautiful dame- woman, I mean woman." He should stop talking now. Or figure out how to receive compliments from women. Either would be great. The last thing Steve wanted to be was impolite.

"I haven't. Don't really have the looks to be on that." His tone was light despite those words. But Pepper really seemed to think that she knew him, or at least thought he was familiar from somewhere. Maybe he could help make things less confusing. "If I may ask, what year are you from? Lot of folks here are from a further time period than me."

She should have been surprised by the question, but sadly, with all that had been going on lately, she wasn't in the slightest. If there were aliens, superheroes, and a strange chemical that could 'hack' someone's DNA, time travel didn't seem all that insane. Well, it still seemed at least a little insane. Yet her uncertainty didn't show, she had trained herself far too well for that sort of slip. Instead, she continued to smile.

"2013." Pepper tried not to look too interested in his reaction, she thought it might be rude.

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Test Drive Meme!

The Sacred Gardens

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