Test Drive - May Edition

[rekindlemods]

Belated May 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. And don't forget to go reserve your character, GO GO GO.......

((PS: We’ve also gotten a suggestion to try and post our Test Drives on the same day as the Activity Check goes up! That is, the last day of the month. We may try that out next time, and see how it works!))

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

Option 1

[Animals, animals everywhere! All over the different parts of the city…And perhaps paying you a visit as well! In a strange manner, as you might find yourself looking over Saeng Seong in a different, more fuzzy perspective.]

Option 2

[Petals keep falling on your head; or at least they have a persistent habit of falling from trees that are in full bloom. And as a consequence they form a nice array of color floating on the wind…Or perhaps getting in one’s face and blocking vision. Or in the worst case, causing a sneezing fit from the excess pollen. Still, at least there’s some flowers to help liven up the air?]

Option 3

[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 4

[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.]

Comments

[dadcepticon]

[Concern is the appropriate reaction for a 10-feet-tall, 2-ton robot who just hit a creature he's led to understand is considerably more fragile! Or Krok thinks concern should be the appropriate reaction. He notes the fact that this human looks about as shabby as Krok ever has during his time aboard the W.A.P. and obligingly hunkers down on one knee to spare any further eye strain.]

Apologies if I'm being a bit forward, but… you don't look all that fine. [And Krok has plenty of nearby healthy specimens by which to make a comparison.] Don't need a medic, do you?

[heismymission]

[He takes a step back when Krok kneels, taking a sharp breath through his nose as his posture tenses. Despite being here without incident for the past couple weeks, he's still rather jumpy at unfamiliar situations. Which is most everything these days.

But he's learning, albeit slowly. He mumbles a response, still not really used to having conversations with strangers.]

Just tired. [He avoids the robot's gaze for a moment, conflicted. If he's this out of it, maybe he should just go ahead and do what the letter suggested. It was fine. It was a decision he was making himself, wasn't it? He wasn't just following orders.] Probably the contact thing.

[dadcepticon]

…That does tend to cause problems. [Krok could be more diligent about it himself, but he manages to skim by most of the time. He's made some small acquaintances who like hitching rides and that strangely makes his life a little easier.

He doesn't offer to help mostly because this fellow looks about as skittish as Spinister on a bad day. Krok may not fear much of anything from humans, even fully-grown ones with metal arms, but he knows better than to antagonise a potentially volatile situation.]

[heismymission]

[Taking a slow breath, he wonders if he should ask for help. He isn't accustomed to doing it, but it feels like the situation calls for it. Maybe. He wants to ask more about it first, and it seems the robot has some experience with it.]

How long are we supposed to do it? [Obviously just a second doesn't cure everything, but he can't remember if the letter said anything specific. Just that they'd need to, or else become ill.]

[dadcepticon]

[Krok shrugs. He's unaware of any particular length of time; he measures it more in the manner of contact. Shaking hands hasn't made him feel half as well as letting Diarmuid ride on his shoulders, for one.]

I don't know if there's any specific interval required. From experience, I'd say you're better off focusing on… how to put it? Quality. [Half of a shrug here, hands open, palms upturned.] Hugging seems to work better than shaking hands and I suppose a longer hold will do you better than a short one in general.

[But hugging strangers – especially tiny, squishy strangers – is terribly awkward and this particular fellow seems as likely to throw punches if anyone tries it as to simply bolt and run. Krok sighs a deep sigh, warm air blasting from his external vents. He offers a shoulder, tilting his upper body closer to his new acquaintance. If his offer is refused, well, it's no harm done to him anyway.

Hop on, if you like. I can carry you wherever it is you need to go and I'm sure it'll do us both some good.

[heismymission]

[The soldier is a bit taken aback by the offer, but the way he words it makes it seem more of an exchange--and he can appreciate an offer that benefits Krok more than he can any selfless generosity. He thinks on the suggestion a moment, thinking that it might make him more noticeable, but... he does have his hat and long sleeves for a reason. If Rogers happens to be in the area, he can simply hide his face--and he'll have a better vantage point, as well.

So he steps forward and climbs up the Decepticon's shoulder without much trouble, holding on with his metal hand. It may be working slowly, but it can still grip just as well once he finally has it on something.]

I was looking for something to eat. [He isn't sure if a direct question is appropriate here. Do... do robots eat food? Considering the lack of visible mouth, he has to assume otherwise.]

[dadcepticon]

Any, er… preferences? I'm not sure what you like as far as fuel. [That's not the word they use.] …Food. Or you can figure it out when we get there.

[And if there are no protests, off they go. Krok has a slow, almost tired stride and his body groans and creaks in the deeply vibrating way large machines do when they haven't been getting enough proper maintenance. He will improve as they travel, though.]

[heismymission]

Anything's fine. [He has no preferences; he neither knows what there is to choose from or what he likes. As long as it gets him some energy, that's all he cares about at the moment.

But the soldier is familiar enough with working with machines--vehicles and weapons, mostly--that the particular way Krok moves tells him there's something not quite right with him in the way there's something not quite right with his own arm. He wonders if that's what happens to mechanical things attached to living people in this place if they don't get enough contact.]

You're having trouble moving. [It's something between a statement and a question, and the fact that he's voicing it at all is a show of concern, though it's likely difficult to tell with his monotone voice.]

[dadcepticon]

[Perceptive little fleshy type. Krok figures candour is the most reasonable choice since that seems to be the order of the day, so he shrugs his free arm slightly as he starts toward the shopping district. He recalls there being plenty of little shops with various types of foods – not that he can eat any of them, but that's beside the point.]

A little. I haven't been as careful about certain things as I should have been.

[heismymission]

[He holds onto Krok thankfully with no problems, but he isn't feeling any better immediately. He wonders how long this is supposed to take, but he doesn't doubt that it will eventually make him feel better. That's what he's heard from so many others, after all.

Though he keeps a careful eye on the surroundings to make sure he isn't spotted by anyone he's trying to avoid, he spares a glance for the robot when he answers. He isn't usually one to guess at things, but the context makes it pretty obvious what he means.] You haven't been touching anyone.

[He's not criticizing, though. He's not really in any place to do so.]

[dadcepticon]

This may be hard to imagine, but large robots seem to scare humans. [Krok sounds bitterly amused about the situation more than upset. He is a Decepticon, after all.] At the very least, I find a scarcity of people whenever I'm about.

[And he isn't even the sort of Decepticon who wears guns openly on his frame!]

[heismymission]

[So others have been avoiding Krok? The soldier was certainly wary of him at first glance merely because he isn't used to giant metal people, but the Decepticon hasn't done anything to imply he intends to do damage to anyone. It's strange to him that people with more experience speaking with others would avoid the (as far as he can tell) agreeable robot.]

We can meet up. [It's the most efficient solution that requires the least amount of thinking. They both need the contact, so why not?]

[dadcepticon]

Can we, now? [Krok finds this both amusing and surprising. He has met humans who jump at the opportunity to spend time with him, but they are very small humans. He assumes they're immature specimens, and this one… isn't.

He thinks. He's hardly a xenobiologist.]

…If you think that would work, I don't see why not.

[Of course, once the human gets around more and hears about the reputation of the Decepticons from whatever random Autobot decides to explain the matter, that will probably change. Krok can't find it in him to be all that upset.]

[heismymission]

[Krok's response is a little difficult for him to interpret; he seems surprised by the offer. But given that he accepts, the soldier doesn't think it's important enough to dwell on.]

I don't see a problem with it. They said any touch would do.

[He returns to looking for food after a quiet breath. He's looking more for a grocery store than a restaurant or cafe, since the latter requires navigating the more unfamiliar territory of conversations with people who aren't giving him orders. He's already had plenty of that today.]

[dadcepticon]

[Stores are plenty. Some are small shops, specialities that Krok doesn't understand since he has to pick up energon rations. Others are more like proper convenience stores. Restaurants and food carts are further on down the road.]

True!