justhugalready | Test Drive

Entry tags:

*test drive meme

Test Drive - April Edition

Happy early April and spring! Here's a new test drive to go with it!
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.

~~And 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

[Something went wrong with your arrival, or perhaps the security around the gates was lax. Either way, you find yourself outside the city and in place that's providing a steady drain on your energy and looking a lot less warm and welcoming. Particularly those insects of unusual size skittering down the sides of the buildings, just waiting for the wrong movement to be made before swarming. There's an alarm being raised on the other side of the city walls, and it sounds like help is on the way…But will it come fast enough?]

Option 2

[There's a bustle of activity in some parts of the city; people fussing over generators that look freshly installed (and also look oddly lantern like; one more oddity to add to this place) and trying to get them up and running. It looks like they could use a hand or two to help…And oddly enough, given the instructions, hand holding to help power these devices.]

Option 3

[Spring is here! Or at least close at hand, with all the flowers beginning to bud in the trees and the grassy areas. (There might even be a few small animals on hand, too!) Even a change in decoration as little charms and masks are hung up on buildings and the like. Chances are, there might be some other people out enjoying the spring weather, too.]

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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(( ooc; - I'm fine with other options, if anyone would prefer something different? o/ Also I am totally open to crit and suggestions, since it's a pretty new muse. Thanks! ))

[Despite his relaxed appearance, Splinter is anything but. Large, rounded ears are lifted and turned out, listening beside and behind him, back straight, whiskers stiff. He'd been-- disoriented, of course. Suddenly finding himself outside of the dark, damp sewers of New York. The view of the sun was a luxury he'd never allowed himself to truly look forward to, but with the hum of overly-large cicadas (he assumes, from the sound,) and the unknown scents in the air...

While he isn't tense to the point of inability, his guard is certainly up, despite the easy pace of his movements, staff in claw. Uncertainty is the biggest disadvantage, despite the inviting and welcoming sights of the city before him, reminiscent of his home in Japan so many years ago. As warm as the town appears, there's no knowing what strange power has torn him here away from his home.

So hello Saeng Seong-- a six-foot-one rat is going to be moving carefully into the shadows of a building, to try and gain whatever information he can- Either about this place, whatever ended him here, or- most imperatively- the state of his sons.]

[Toto, she wasn't in Abel City any more. No diagnostics program in her system could come up with an exact 'what' for he place, let alone a 'why'. To feel herself waking up here when she'd just gone to bed was one unknown among a sea of them, and as a Navigator she had to have the answers. It was simply strange not to have any.]

[Sighing for what had to be the tenth time since she arrived, Layer turned another corner and felt a light, fluttery sensation in her chest again. Wherever this city was, it was beautiful. It cried of nostalgia and Eastern culture, and the warm, comfortable color and sheer atmosphere seemed to tell her everything was alright. She'd love to believe it, and that was what drove her to press onward alone amid radio silence; she couldn't contact the Hunters, nor could she call Alia or Pallette. She thought her communication systems were top of the line.]

Oh-!

[There was someone moving into an alleyway. When you hailed from a world where your comrades could have human shapes, animal shapes or both, seeing a tall rat-man was no surprise to her. Quickening her pace, she was relieved to see another person. Information! But she had to be quick or she may lose him.]

[Pigeons are sometimes called rats with wings, aren't they?

From another of those shadows a young man with dyed-blue hair, perfectly white feathers, and bright, observant eyes watches Splinter with more wariness than alarm. Oddly, while he's a harpylike creature and has the warm-bread-and-feathers smell of a clean pigeon, it's oddly easy to overlook him.

With those scaly legs stretched out straight underneath him he's in the vicinity of seven feet tall and awkward about it. Julien's not really used to his body being like this, and anxious about being in public. Hence lurking and using his stealth talent to keep from attracting as much notice as he might.]

[He's quick to alert to the sound of footsteps and the smell of oil and machinery. His furry nose wrinkles slightly with another sniff- the scent is more familiar than the Kraang-originated machinery Donatello would bring back, though nothing can be discounted.

And so his own pace quickens as well- moving nimbly on clawed feet, robe and tail trailing into the shaded alleyway. While it's more linear and closed off, also is it more discrete. Splinters head lifts slightly, assessing the corners of roofs and the projections of windows, anything that may be used in a pinch should the need to climb arise.

But-- once alone with his pursuer in the alley, instead he turns to stand his ground. Curiously, his ears flicker and whiskers bow forward, though the rest of his stance remains just as relaxed and casual as ever as he looks quickly over the purple-haired, woman-appearing machine before him.]

You don't look like the robots the Kraang use. [Claws fold on his staff casually, letting it rest on the ground before him like a cane. His mouth parts in some approximation of a friendly smile.]

Now that you've caught me-- what is it you're looking for?

[Brethren from the sky, perhaps!

And it does take him a moment longer than usual to locate where that sense of being watched is originating from. Despite having trained his life to hone those instincts and senses, developing that faint intuition that comes from watching others and the surroundings-- he's almost very close to Julien when his nose and whiskers twitch, finally locating those bright, watchful eyes.]

...!

[A sharp intake of breath... and it's released as a careful sigh. His ears fall slightly, and the rat offers a claw to the bird-like creature before him.]

So you, also, have fallen victim to the mutagen.

[It was bad enough that he woke up in an unfamiliar city after another dizzying 'heart attack'. But after having his GPS come up with nothing but a string of [carrier lost] and managing to somehow understand a language he didn't even know existed, some part of him wondered if he'd follow it up with counting electric sheep.

But, for better or worse, he hadn't just started dreaming. And, in presence or in confusion, he wasn't alone. Also for better of worse.

It didn't matter where you went or what city you passed through; people- or things, as the case might be- who stuck to the shadows weren't usually doing it out of shyness. Heck, he had his own reasons. But the figure in question making him flip-flop between rat and human in trying to identify it... well, that one was a new one.

He'd keep his gear where it was for now. Having one person of questionable humanity around was enough. But he'd make his way over, and keep up that calm while he did so.]

You okay? You don't look so good.

[Considering a CRAU app here.

Julien was human, once. He's not entirely clear on why he's been getting less so; a popular theory is that he's the reincarnation of someone extremely inhuman and that's been catching up. By now his arms and legs have gone over. The latter are so long now that if he stands straight he's around seven feet off the ground. It's very awkward. He keeps his wings tightly folded. At a casual enough glance, they and his tail just seem like a huge feather cloak. The legs - maybe he's on red stilts?

While he's unhappy about the change and hates scaring people, he has to go out, and be out and part of the world, particularly if it's strange. Have a bright smile.]

Suil! I mean, hi. How's it going? Has the winter been as long here as it was at home?

[His back straightens and ears swivel, locking in on the sound of someone speaking to him. Well-- perhaps his disorientation from waking in this place was still lingering in his lack of stealth. (And... really, much information could only be gained from interaction.) But his tufted brows arch slightly in acknowledgement, and slowly the large rodent shakes his head.]

I am fine.

[It's careful, as though accessing. But the lack of yells or running is... very good. Perhaps people outside of New York City have a more affable relationship with rats.] Simply... orienting myself with this city.

[At the hem of his robe, his tail curls slightly to hug the fabric, rather than remaining splayed out. Both claws move to clasp behind his back comfortable, staff held in them.] Are you native to here?

[:D

Really, Julien should've said something and broken his stealth before the ... man had to hunt him out. He's guessing that hiding like that is rude. But it happened quickly, and he wanted to be sure this wasn't a threat, and... okay, then. Guess not.

A smile comes easily to his face, self-conscious though it is. He holds his wings closer to his chest, then reaches out with one. Julien's got some fingers remaining, but the very long wing feathers attached to them get in the way a lot. Still, he can more or less manage this.]

...I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. I'm Julien, Julien Sakazaki. Galu!

['Blessing', in Tolkien Elvish. ...he was taught it and learned quickly, since it's a language animals can understand and he's been turning into a bird.]

A notification pinged across her vision, strings of errors involving her power core and of some kind of energy leak again. But, again, she ignored them. As alarms sounded from inside the city ahead, it added to the cacophony that already blared away within her, warning her of her energy levels draining and fast. The ETA on complete shut-down couldn't decide on how much time she had left, the numbers recalculating up and down so quickly that she couldn't read them. But she kept moving.

If the Hunters could push themselves against steadily-stacking odds, then so could she.

Drawing her rapier, she decided her best bet was heading for the city. They had lights, electricity, and she hoped she'd be able to find the answers she sought. Why she drew her rapier? Targeting reticules signaled her to incoming foes: Large, malevolent insects.

A whoooole lot of them.

[So here's a mourning dove that stands about three feet tall. He's got a book held against his body by one wing, and whoever you are he's watching you with a round, dark eye.

Staring, actually. Doesn't he know that's rude?]

Hmm. [An understanding nod, as he draws Julien from the recess he'd been in, before letting go of the talon-like hands. His eyes close for a moment, a claw draing to his chin and trailing down the long fur that makes up his beard.]

The simple explanation is that it is responsible for our altered forms. Am I correct in guessing you did not always bear that shape?

[His sons had told him of a half-pigeon, half-man they had encountered... but their description was very much different than the being before him. The beard-stroking ends, and his eyes open again, ears lifting to show his full attention on Julien-- but rather than inspecting or assessing, there's a gentleness to his tone.]

I'm sure you see that we are similar.

Riiight...

[It's not so much disbelieving as dully incredulous. Not at his claim of adjustment- he was new here too, of course, he could relate with confusion or even nerves- but more at the fact that he was carrying on a fairly articulate conversation with a giant, bipedal rat.

Guess that explained why the stranger was so intent on not letting himself be seen. Honestly, he would have been, himself, if he was in the rat's shoes. Claws.]

No... I just arrived here. Sounds like you did, too. Guess you don't have any idea what's really going on here either, then?

[Well, if you don't point it out, than neither will he. Being a rodent will just simply have to be the big white elephant in the room.]

No. Before arriving here, I was at my home, meditating. [The fact that 'his home' was a decommissioned subway station connected to the sewers of New York and shared with four anthropomorphic turtles and a teenage girl could be heavily glossed over.] After arriving here, it is difficult to know where to begin in a search for information.

[None of that was information that was worth withholding, after all.] Allow me to introduce myself- You may call me Splinter.

[He seemed to pick up the pace, and with that she slowed. She didn't wish to frighten him, but perhaps she had been hasty in the face of seeing... well, another face.]

[But he surprised her by regarding her now, exuding a practiced cool. Every inch of his body language read that he was an individual held in high regard, and that he had seen much. He'd faced far more intimidating foes. Still, her hand was aloft, and her lips parted to insist that she was a friend, but the rat had spoken first. Confusion colored her features at first, but she quickly caught herself and straightened up.]

Oh, um- Information. This city isn't familiar to me, and you were the first person I've encountered since my arrival. I was hoping you could fill in the blanks.

Nothing about the geography fits any map I have on record.

He was used to seeing a few proverbial red lights showing up for his power supply. But he never saw it suddenly start draining so suddenly. So quickly. And the place around him didn't look like it's life was faring any better.

Except for the bugs. They looked better than ever. And bigger. Much, much bigger. And the only presence apart from that was that blaring siren amidst the one stretch of buildings that looked pretty well-off.

No... it was faint. but there was one other signal out here. Ad hoc, too.

He wasn't fond of killing living creatures, but a couple bugs streaking towards him were quickly fended off with two quick blasts from a cannon he was swift to dispel... he had to save energy as he made his way over to that other little blip on his radar. Maybe with the other one's help he could make it back without a fuss.

Edited 2014-03-30 04:56 (UTC)

[Julien lets himself be pulled out of his nook, stepping carefully. Despite his claws and the sense that he's not used to his long, gangling legs, Julien is graceful and moves almost silently. He watches his new friend, deciding that he can't be from Locke, and speaks carefully.]

Ah... well, I was human, yeah. For a long time. [He presses his lips together, shakes his head, and moves on.] But I've been changing for... god, it's been a year already?

[It's surprising to think about. April to March. His lungs changing, to growing wings.]

...A year. Yeah. There's... there was something dumped in the water once, but nothing else I'd call a mutagen, and things were happening before that. I got these two weeks ago falling off a roof like a fucking idiot. [He shifts his wings and tightens his clawed toes on the ground beneath him, seeming more unhappy than bitter and more bitter than angry.]

[The fact that she was in the same situation as himself both worries and assures him. Others didn't need to be caught up in whatever had pulled him from his home and family... but there was certainly strength in teamwork. His nose lowers slightly, dipping in faint thought at her answer.

...Even more reassuring is the fact that she doesn't seem to find his appearance anything to alarm herself over-- but if she was truly as mechanical as she smelled, then that might be a reason why.]

Unfortunately, it seems that we are similar in that regards. The buildings are nothing that I've seen in New York-- and the wall is high enough that surely any city in Japan bearing it, I would have heard of.

[Perhaps visited. Perhaps scaled.]

Though, information is my goal as well. [The whiskers twitch in another rodent-smile, looking up to the woman-robot warmly.] I would not be opposed to cooperation with you.

[he listens carefully and intently, trying to slot the information given by Julien with what he understood of the current plight faced by the city. From his own experiences, he knew the Kraang mutagen to be relatively immediate in its effects... though the process described by Julien seemed slow and ongoing.]

I am sorry to hear of your hardship. [Respectfully, he lowers his head for a moment, ears falling back. After a short pause, he lifts them again, looking up at the lean, feathered man before him.]

I am Splinter. I, too, was once a man, before changing to this form. However, the chemical that caused it was far faster than what you are describing. [Thick, white brows furrow together, seeking understanding.]

Did this happen to you here?

The siren was going off. Fortuna didn't know what that meant, but with people rushing for the gates, she decided it couldn't be anything good.

It was faster for her to find a ladder and scale the walls, however, than it was to divert to the gate, and her unorthodox approach was rewarded with a view of someone being attacked by those damned bugs. As if there weren't enough giant bugs back home.

She pulled her drones up and sent them over the wall, jumping in and taking direct control of them from where she sat. Layer would soon be joined by a pair of roughly cat-sized machines, one round and hovering and launching miniature mortars at the bugs, and the other wheeled and tank-like, firing from a domed turret.

Well, at least the weather's nice. Maybe I'll just call it a vacation.

[Just because having a big rat in front of you is strange doesn't mean that pointing it out and yelling about it is going to do any good.]

Where is your home, anyway? By your clothes and accent I want to say 'Japan,' but... well, you don't quite look Japanese.

[...at least, not without being at least a little discreet. And speaking of which...]

Splinter, eh. Just call me 'Blues.'

[The man has a sort of clever intuition- and to that, the rodent's snout and whiskers quirk in a sort of smile.] Yes, once- However, like many of my kind, I now reside in New York.

[...Whether he means 'the Japanese', 'rats', or 'mutants', it's really not clear..]

It is good to meet you, Blues. [A soft nod.] And where is your home?

Um... well, thank you. I get by, it's just messy sometimes. [It's important to Julien to always, or usually at least, come across as well-adjusted. Happy, or at least on an even keel. At least he feels less self conscious about being this birdy around an anthropomorphic rodent.] Gotta cope with what you can, right?

Nah, this was in Locke, in New Jersey. [It's a game-specific city, not existing in any other reality.] I'd like to think if I'm stuck wherever this is I won't get anything else, but I guess I just have to wait! How about you - Splinter, huh? Cool.

Ah... New Jersey. [He doesn't recognize the specific city, but-- Well. New Jersey. And if the Kraang were in New York, it made sense for them to be in Jersey as well-- perhaps experimenting with a different strain of mutagen?

Hmm. It was the sort of thing he's certain Donatello would figure out.]

I was in New York. I live there still, though it has been a number of years since my exposure. [And- like Julien says, they have to cope. And as he had told the turtles-- there are many things that he had gained from his transformation.]

At least know you are not alone, Julien. I commend your ability to remain pliable and adaptive to your changed form.

[Julien grins. The color of his teeth isn't quite right - they're more like an internal beak now.] I know, I know! Jersey's got a bad rep! But Locke's nice, or it was before the aliens and stuff. You from the city proper, or just the state?

Hah, thanks. You wouldn't say that if you'd seen me a couple weeks ago. [He says it lightly, as a joke, but he's been taking it hard.] Back home I worked in a charity clinic in a bad part of town. Had to quit since, y'know. [Julien flares his tail out behind him and narrows it again.] Looks like people don't care so much about that here.

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Test Drive - April Edition

Splinter | TMNT 2012 (Option 3, or any others!)

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Layer | Megaman X | Option 1

Fujishiro Nageki|Hatoful Boyfriend

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Re: Layer | Megaman X | Option 1

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