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 in a week when they open.~~

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

Option 1

[While the days grow longer and warmer and the older, oriental-style of the city would normally make one think that the interiors would not be much in the way of relief from the hot sun, it may surprise the guest to see that the apartments the natives have allocated for them are surprisingly comfortable. In fact, the only modern convenience they may be missing is a television set! At least, outside the media floor on the first floor of Building One - the first of four inter-connected buildings.

In fact, each apartment building seems to have at least one different amenity on the first floor. In Building Two they seemed to even spare a library in another that seems to have the basics and some information packets that are otherwise found in the Welcome Center in District 2. There are even a few restaurants and common dining areas in the Building Three that are open until late at night, and meeting areas and a ballroom on the first floor in Building Four, perfect for setting up small parties or big events.

With the locals gone save those who work in the restaurants and the one librarian, leaving you to your own devices, what will you do? What mysteries could be left to discover in this place?]

Option 2

[With summer coming, the water level in the river is starting to go down, exposing some of the beach. The Riverside Shack is open late, and its restaurant is pulling out all the stops and offering seafood specials (even though a river is a far cry from an ocean). The rental store, meanwhile, is finally bringing out more of its swimming supplies, inner tubes and pool noodles, and a calmer stretch of the river has been roped off with buoys for swimming. They even have lifeguards chairs set up. Clearly this sort of thing used to be an annual event.

It's not quite an ocean beach (quite different actually), but there's still plenty of chance to have fun in the water. Or teach someone to swim, perhaps.]

Option 3

[If you're more inclined to explore or learn, the City's Learning Center might be more to your tastes. There certainly seems to be a lot going on here - there's laboratories and libraries and workshops, and plenty of communal areas where you can meet and talk with people. The natives seem pretty absorbed with their studies and work, though they're polite in brushing you off, at least.

Perhaps you'll have more luck seeing what other Guests such as yourself have discovered?]

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Madge was a withdrawn person by nature. It was part of what had kindled her friendship with Katniss... and part of what made everyone else think she was stand off-ish.

But so much physical contact being required? Well, that seemed like a bit much, didn't it? That's what she thought until she found it difficult to get out of bed and was having trouble even thinking about eating...]

[ Gale wasn't one to... touch others, simply for the sake of touching. When they'd told him that it was a necessary part of life Saeng Seong, he'd only scoffed and gone about his business - exploring his new prison.

That is, until he started to feel a little sick.

It felt like the onset of a cold. He'd had plenty of those as a kid from a poor family, and he'd taken care of his own siblings when they suffered the same. There was the dizziness, the fatigue, the nausea... and it only kept getting worse. Even though he should have been resting, Gale had stubbornly fought to keep going, certain that if there was a way to bring people here, there was also a way to send them back, and he needed to take care of his family. But stubborn, bullheadedness could only get you so far, and he had just about reached his limit. It was past time to lie down.

Leaning heavily against the walls for support, Gale dragged himself toward the guest apartments. Any old room would do. He didn't care which, so long as there was a place to rest. The first door he found unlocked, he stumbled through and almost missed seeing that the bed was already occupied. He let out a low groan of frustration and leaned back against the door, trying to earn up the will to keep moving and find another room. ]

[Madge didn't pay much attention when someone came into the room. She didn't even feel like acknowledging them. But it was after a moment that she realized they were still there and that groan was from frustration. Peeking from under the covers, she frowned.

Of course it would be him.]

Gale?

[Her voice was weak at best, but it was loud enough to hear... Probably for not much longer.]

[ The voice registered a few seconds after she spoke, and his brow furrowed in confusion. Fragmented thoughts went through his head like molasses. That person... she sounded like... But it couldn't be. She hadn't been there when... They'd been certain that...

She knew his name.

Gale tried focusing on her, but as tired and dizzy as he felt, it was difficult. All he could distinguish was the blonde hair. A dull feeling of shock was slowly building. But it was impossible. There were others. Had to be some other town girl - had to be. ]

Who're you?

[ It was tactless, and even to his own ears, Gale's voice sounded rough, weaker than usual, which only made him sound worse. Mom would've had his hide for talking to a girl like that, especially one who was obviously sick. ]

[If she was meant to cower at the tone of his voice, she didn't get the memo. Madge lowered the blanket from her face a little more, blue eyes fixed on him. Maybe she was hallucinating. Maybe not.]

It's Madge.

[Her own tone, weak as it may be, was stone cold in response.]

[ It was like one of those Capitol trains had come to a sudden halt. Words failed him, and Gale found himself blinking and gaping in disbelief. One word echoed through his mind.

Impossible. Impossible. The bombs...

After a moment's silence, his expression hardened, jaw set. So she'd managed to get out after all. On the one hand, there was one less death, one less life he'd failed to save weighing on his conscience. On the other hand... this was Undersee, and they didn't exactly see eye to eye. ]

Make it out of Twelve just to lie in bed all day? Must be hard not having someone to take care of you.

[ Yes, this was a good, positive way to reunite with an old friend. ]

[She scoffed. Or at least she tried to, but being this sick made that difficult. Leave it to him to ruin a moment that could have been positive.]

I'm flattered you care.

[She dead panned at him. If she had the energy, she would have rolled her eyes.]

I can take care of myself just fine. Do you always harass the ill, or do I get special treatment?

And a you're doing a great job at it.

[ Not that he was doing much better. Even as he taunted her, Gale could feel himself getting more tired, leaning a little more heavily on the door. He wasn't going to kick Undersee out of her own bed, but he didn't have the energy to look any further. A couch would do. A chair, maybe. A table. Whatever could hold his weight, really. ]

Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm not feeling too hot, either.

[ That excuses everything. ]

[Her eyes narrowed just a little more. How did he have the strength to make stupid remarks like that? It took all of her will power to sit up and glare at him properly, clutching the blankets to herself.]

If you'll stop being a jerk, there's room in here for you to rest.

[Because she didn't even want to think about the supposed cure to all of this... It couldn't be as simple as hugging people.]

[ Who's being a jerk?

...Okay, yeah, he was, and he knew it. Part of him had enough sense to feel ashamed, but the rest was too worn out to care. He eyed her incredulously at the suggestion. Sharing a bed was a concept he wasn't unacquainted with, but with her?

Still, both of them were looking pretty awful, and if he remembered right, Undersee wasn't exactly the social butterfly, either. Strange as it was, maybe... ]

You don't think it's true, do you?

[She was too sick to care, really. But she was the kind of person to give up her bed if someone needed it more than she. So she watched him, carefully void of any emotion... And he didn't move. He did, however, voice her concern.]

It seems strange, doesn't it?

[Given he's just as social a creature as she is...]

It's possible, I guess.

[ Thank you, you have clarified nothing.

He sighed, frustrated. What did it matter, even if it was true? What did he have to lose? Maybe a touch would do it, maybe it wouldn't, but only his pride was at risk here, and he could blame it on the cold. With effort, Gale pushed himself from the door and started toward the bed. ]

Alright. Just for a little while. To rest.

[ It was meant to come out as a warning, but it just sounded tired. ]

[Yes, warn the cunning Madge Undersee, who is just as clueless as you are about all of this. He couldn't blame her for not being clearer about his question, knew as little as he did. And she was suffering the same consequences. She rolled her eyes and shifted to the farthest side.]

I wouldn't expect it to have been for any other reason.

[But now that she at least knew he'd be resting, she slumped back down and curled under the blankets again. Miserable.]

[ He rolled his eyes and dropped onto the bed, rolling onto his stomach, face first on the pillow. Normally, he might've taken the time to get under the blankets, but he was beyond that point now. Yes, this lying down was much better. It didn't make him feel any better, but it was better than trudging through city streets or apartments. He made a quiet, garbled noise in reply to her comment. It could be seen as an improvement, however; no words, no outright meanness. ]

[It was a big improvement. Madge made a small, huffy sound as she rolled onto her side, facing away from him. Maybe he'd get the rest he needed and be on his grumpy way eventually. But the silence, though necessary, was making her a little uncomfortable. Maybe it was worth a try... They clearly weren't getting better anytime soon...]

You invited me, Undersee.

[ His voice was soft, muffled further by the pillows. What was she getting annoyed with him for now? It's not like he was bothering her. If she didn't want Gale there, all she had to do was say something, and he'd be more than happy to get up and go. Even if a bed was the best thing all day. ]

I know.

[But really, she's just cranky. So, instead of saying anything else, she let the silence take over. It was nice to have a little company in her misery... And nicer yet that it was someone she new, no matter how little they got along...

It was worth a try.

Rolling back onto her back, her hand sought his cautiously.]

[ Okay. Whatever. She could be as whiny as she wanted; Gale was tuning it out now. He ignored it when she moved, just trying to focus on sleep and getting over this stupid cold.

...Was that- ]

Undersee...

[ If he was truthful, her touching his hand wasn't that bad. In fact, it made Gale feel a little more at ease, though he couldn't say why. It certainly didn't cure him of the problems the natives had warned him about, but it was easier to relax. That's all. Honestly, it was probably just that it reminded him of when Katniss had held his hand while he'd been in and out of consciousness after the whipping. It reminded him of home, and a friend, and that was why it made him relax. Not some stupid story about needing physical contact to survive. ]

Edited 2013-05-17 16:11 (UTC)

[Madge remained quiet, it was better to just not say anything at all. She felt more comfortable at this point, but she too wrote it off off as something familiar. She took a deep breath, didn't let go, and closed her eyes. At last she felt like she could rest... She wasn't going to ruin it by making a smart remark.]

[ How one could roll their eyes when they were closed and shoved into a pillow was a mystery, but Gale managed. He'd never really understood this girl, and anything she did only confused him more. She was from town, he was from the Seam. They were from different worlds, but she never acted the way some of the others did. She was a mystery, and now that mystery was holding his hand.

And he wasn't bothered by it, and under normal circumstances, that would have confused him - angered him - even more. Today, however? In this strange city? It felt okay to go with the flow. If that meant holding the Mayor's daughter's hand, okay. A reminder from home wasn't a bad thing, and in his fatigue, Gale failed to notice that he'd shifted a little closer. ]

[Madge never had the same superiority complex other town girls did. Even as she started to drift, at last, into an almost peaceful slumber, she felt him shift closer. If she were less sick, she'd question it. Instead, in that half asleep state, she laced her fingers with his and left it at that.]

[ Another shift, and he was lying on his side. It took some adjusting with their hands intertwined, but this was infinitely more comfortable. He could breathe easier now, and he started to drift off. ]

[By that point, she was drifting off herself. Madge probably wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was thankful he'd found her... even if it was on accident. In her sleep, she shifted closer to him.]

[ His breathing is slowly getting deeper, more steady. When she shifts closer he only exhales softly, tightening his grip on her hand just slightly. ]

[The knowledge that he was resting well was enough to keep her asleep. Even the grip on her hand didn't make her stir. It only made her subconsciously seek more comfort, shifting closer yet.]

Madge Undersee | The Hunger Games | Option 4

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