Test Drive (December & January)

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Test Drive

→ Holds and applications are always open. Holds are required for all applications.

→ Choose one of the scenarios below or make up your own. Feel free to try multiple scenarios.

→ Write LOGS or NETWORK prompts, or both.

→ THERE ARE ONLY THREE RULES FOR THE TDM:

1. It has to take place in the 6I universe.
2. It cannot be the character's arrival into the game.
3. Please only test new characters who do not have a version in the game. Our cast list is here.

→ TDM threads cannot be used to meet AC, but if the character is accepted into the game and both players agree, you may keep the CR.

→ Character want ads are here.

Prompts

1. SNOW BLIND - It's snowing, a lot, and pristine landscape though it might create, it also brings plenty of problems, especially when you live in an Edwardian-style village with a serious lack of snow shovels. It's currently blizzard conditions and visibility is nil — Maybe you gave in and ducked into the nearest house for temporary shelter, and discover someone else had the same idea (or just lives there, oops). Maybe you're stubborn enough to still be out in it, struggling against the wind and snow. Or maybe you've tromped into the South Village Inn like a human popsicle, and are just hoping you don't lose any fingers before you make it to the fireplace.


2. JUMPED-UP - Winter's here, which means it's the perfect time for an expedition to warmer, southern climes. You've joined a group following the river all the way down to the far southern beach, for fun and for science. On this latest break in your journey, you've spotted a large, jewel-colored feather and picked it up, maybe as a specimen to bring back or just a feather for your cap. Turns out it's an archaeopteryx feather, and you're now, well... let's call it a little gravity-challenged. Not a bad benefit once you figure out how to control it.


3. COLD CALL - The snow has slacked off, leaving behind a winter wonderland. Sure, there's plenty to do, but after being cooped up inside for days, most people won't blame you for a morale-booster — That is, unless your way of starting a snowball fight is to pop up and throw them at unsuspecting passers-by. Making a snow man or snow angels might come with a little less retribution, but you do you.


4. WILDCARD - Choose your own adventure. Maybe play powers roulette.

Network

All characters are fitted with a smart watch-like device on their left wrist, which they can use to send text and video messages to other villagers.

- Text and/or video, any length
- Display names may be changed by characters on the fly, but anyone can tap to see someone's real full name

Please list your CHARACTER NAME, CANON & PROMPT in your SUBJECT LINE.

Comments

Alistair Theirin | Dragon Age

[nobroth]

Snow Blind:

Many people tended to think that Alistair was not exactly the sharpest knife in the block. That was fine. If they thought that, they wouldn't bother him to try to be smarter. But one thing no one could say to him was that he wasn't thoughtful - at least, not anymore.

The snow was swirling around him, he had a decent notion of where things were, and still he trudged through it, calling out, "Hello? Hello! If anyone else is out here, I can help you to the Inn! Just call out so I can find you!"

Jumped Up:

How many bad ideas had he had in his life that started with him spotting something and going, "Ooh"?

More than he cared to think of, honestly, and that explained why, now, Alistair was clinging to a tree branch with both arms, legs too far away from anything to get purchase, and the ground... quite... quite a way down there, really...

"Um. Help? Someone? Please?"

Cold Call:

Yes, yes, it was snowing.

It was... well, it was snowing a not nearly as much as before, honestly, but he knew he should be indoors. He was very close to being indoors, as a matter of fact, standing just outside the inn. He could get back in quickly enough. Very quickly. But that didn't stop him from standing there, hand outstretched, watching snowflake after snowflake drift down into his hand, building into a little mound.

But after enough time had passed, his gaze drifted over to the railing at the edge of the steps that led up to the inn's porch. Not much of a railing. Not much of a set of steps, really. And yet...

...It wasn't a lamppost, but...

Jumped Up

[ombranera]

"...Alistair?" Somehow- Zevran is thoroughly unsurprised. Truly. If there was any member of their merry little band to arrive and find themselves in trouble within short order? His first guess would be Oghren. His second would be Alistair. At the very least he's floating instead of ankle deep in a bear's trap.

It could be worse.

"Give me a moment-" Climbing a tree is quite different from climbing a building- but Zevran makes his way from limb to limb all the same. "How did you manage this, mm? Annoy a witch?"

[nobroth]

"Zevran?"

The surprise of seeing Zev, out of everyone, was nearly enough to have him letting go of the branch. As he struggled to keep hold, he clenched his teeth - the branch he was holding on to was enough to hold his weight, but he was a little unsure if it would hold Zev, too.

Maybe it would. Zev wasn't exactly the world's biggest elf.

"I have no idea. It might have something to do with the feather, I just-- Be careful, I don't want to break my arse, here. Last thing I knew, I was just trying to jump over that fallen branch down there and suddenly-- Oop--"

The branch shifted. Alistair slid. And then he held on more tightly.

[ombranera]

"How many times must I tell you, call me Zev. We are friends, are we not?" Of a sort. In what loose ways Zevran knows to have friends that are not, perhaps, meant to kill him and do not have any desire to own, direct, or fuck him. It is a strange feeling to be sure but- there is some shred of fondness in him for this particular strangeness of Alistair's.

Or perhaps it is fondness for something that is at last familiar. So much of this place is strange to him.

Braced between branch and trunk he pulls a length of rope from his pack, quickly fashioning a slip knot at one end and tossing the loop about Alistair. He floats, yes? So. He may float them both down.

Or they might crash together. Who can say?

"It would be a pity to break your very fine arse, this is true. Hold tight-" A sturdy branch lies between them, he loops the rope about it. "Let go. I will keep you up."

Or down, as it were.

[nobroth]

He was doubtful, but... but he didn't remember doing anything that would make Zev drop him on his face. He thought. He hoped. So he did what Zev asked, carefully, slowly letting go and trusting the rope that was flung around him - and hoping he didn't end up the world's most gingery anchor that would fling a painted elf to the ground.

"I-- Oof, okay, one more arm here... I think we're still friends. Aren't we? It's been a while." And with that, he let go and found himself slowly descending, his somewhat decreased weight taking up slack from the rope in its own sweet time.

Which he stared at, lips pursed and pulled to one side. "Well. If I'd known that would've happened, I wouldn't have wasted so much time dangling from a tree..."

[ombranera]

"Do not tell me you are from further along the timeline than I am- you are, aren't you?" He sighs as he leans back, using the rope and Alistair's weight to hold himself in place as he lowers the suddenly buoyant if not boisterous bastard down to the ground. "Before I woke here? We were in Denerim, enjoying a battle well fought and a victory well earned. Wine, Women, celebratory ravishings, promise of coin and possible future employment with the crown-"

Once Alistair is closer to the ground Zev steps off the branch, lowering himself as well.

"Perhaps you simply needed to want to come down, yes? Magic is a strange thing. An art of will. Probably for the best you had no skill for it."

[nobroth]

"Before I came out of the fountain, I was in the Fade, fighting a really-- really ugly spider--

"Thanks, Zev," he added as he landed, getting his feet under him. The feather wasn't far away. Just a few feet. But even if it was pretty, he knew better. That feather was pretty like Morrigan was pretty. It could stay pretty over there.

"But you're right. I'd not seen you for... quite a few years."

[ombranera]

Zevran landed light on his feet, silently as ever before shaking the rope back down. Rather than walk to Alistair properly he playfully reels himself in, head cocked to the side, eartips dipped as he squints.

More crows feet than he remembers.

A smattering of blond copper that might be silver scattered throughout his ginger mess of hair. A weariness to his bones that wasn't near so pronounced in their travels together. "What, I do not keep in touch? I do not write, I do not visit? How terribly rude of me."

It didn't fit. That he'd find...something of a family, such as he learned one to be, and abandoned it outright after saving the world? For some it fit. Wynne, Oghren, Sten. But, the witch, the sister, the warden?

Snow Blind

[championofsnark]

A figure appeared from the distance at first, and then it came clearer into view. Hawke with some blood on her face, a tiny deer corpse on her back along with her bow. She really and truly despised those creatures, and she lucked upon one that seemed separated from its murderous pack. It's not that she relished killing animals, but they had to keep their food supply going, and she was stubborn enough to go out in this. It was better than staying cooped inside. She could barely see the deer, and her fingers were frozen, but her arrow had struck true.

She heard the voice on the wind and smiled, chilled to the bone, her nose and cheeks rosy. "Trying to be the dashing hero, your majesty? It does suit you." She was rather fond of the man, having liked him in their world too, although they spoke only a little there. She could make friends with a rock, if it was her only option. She was shivering, the deer's blood likely staining her clothes so she would need to clean them. "I am fairly certain no one is mad enough to be out here but me."

[nobroth]

"I was h-- Wait, 'your majesty'? Someone's given you some bad information for sure." But Alistair still pushed toward the voice, toward Hawke, arm held up to shield his face from the blowing snow. "Here, it's too damned easy to get turned around in all this. If nothing else, I can make a good windbreak."

Aha, there she was. He'd just seen a shadow before, but now he recognised her, bow, dead deer, and all. "And look at that. You've got lunch. Just don't ask me to cook it."

[championofsnark]

His voice was incredibly distinct. The howling of the wind didn't disguise it from her sharp hunter ears. It reminded her of Varric, who she would know a whisper from across a pond. She laughed at his statement and shook her head. "No, we have people who could use it better than either of us. I just provide the death, they provide the life." So to speak. Carcass for cooked meat. It all seemed reasonable.

Hawke peered at him curiously. "Wait, are you ... not king? They said this happens sometimes, different timelines and all, but I haven't seen it myself really yet."

[nobroth]

"No, not king," he said, shaking his head and stepping to where he stood between her and the wind. "Exiled when Sereda chose Loghain over me."

Sereda Brosca, now Warden Commander of Ferelden. And off doing Andraste knew what in the West.

Maybe she fell off a cliff. Alistair was vindictive enough to--... Well, no, not really. She still held at least a small piece of his heart.

[championofsnark]

Hawke gaped for a moment, scandalized. "The Warden did that to you?" She wondered if he wanted to know about the much happier version she saw, but hard to say. "Wow. So yeah. It's one of these odd things that happen here! Whoever's in charge," Hawke gestured toward the sky, "can do that apparently. You'd think I'd not be surprised at anything these days." She didn't get to tease him with royalty jokes though! What a shame.

"Well, I'm Hawke, nice to meet this you I suppose. You're not secretly a cruel hearted evil version of yourself, are you? Because evil dopplegangers would be ever so fun." Not really fun. "I'd offer you my hand, but I'm holding a dead animal."

[nobroth]

"I've heard of you, Hawke - I think we spent some common time in Kirkwall, but I was busy drinking myself into a stupor, so I'm not sure." As it was, he fell into step beside her, lifting his arm to shield them both from the snow as best as possible. "But as far as I know, I'm not evil or anything. A little bitter, maybe, and more mature, but not evil. Where are you headed with your dead animal?"

In any other situation, that question might've been unsightly. Dead animals and all. But as it was, it was just a matter of course.

[championofsnark]

"I suppose we ran into each other in multiple lives then. Did you also sleep wth Isabela in yours?" Such a forward question but that's Hawke for you. Alarmingly to the point. Isabela liked to brag to her about how she got the King and Queen in bed once, and Hawke used to joke that it meant he was only one vagina away from the throne. She has an odd sense of humor that way. "If not, I highly recommend it." Wingwomaning her even in another world!

"To the inn. We were starting to get a little low on meat, otherwise I would've waited. But that's the problem with a lot of mouths when no one can go far." Hawke accepted his snow shield and she at least seemed to know exactly where she was going, even in all of his weather. Her tracks were covered now by the snow, but her feet had a skill for knowing where to go.

Cold Call

[skyward_eyes]

Cold. Cold cold cold. What sort of cruel fates decided that it would be best to take a young man whose entire life had been lived either in the tropics or within a large and well heated academy and drop him into snow within his first days of arrival? There was some sort of cruelty going on here, and even if Nida didn't entirely believe the whole 'our world was created by a terrible Sorcerer who murdered and ate his creations' he was starting to think that maybe cursing Hyne might not be the worst thing to be doing.

This wasn't his fault, of course, being out in this cold. There had been things to do, and he'd gone out before the storm had started because for all of his experience with the outdoors it wasn't like he had a lot of practical experience at reading 'hey I'm a pending snow storm' in the clouds. So all he'd done was to go out and spend a little time with the few people he knew here and instead of making it to their place he'd been stranded in an empty hours for a few days. At last things had let up enough for him to tromp back through the snow toward the inn.

So there was Alister's answer. It wasn't a lamppost. It was a shivering idiot, cursing under his breath because at some point he'd fallen into a mound of snow and now his peacoat was wet from melted snow, his pants felt almost frozen to his skin, and the poor young man didn't really seem like he was handling this well.

"There a fire lit in there?" he called out toward Alister when he saw the man. "I want to feel my fingers again."

[nobroth]

Now that was the walk of someone who had no idea what snow was. Alistair stifled his smirk in favour of stepping sideways. "Maker's breath, get in there before you start freezing bits off," he said, "and by the looks of you, the bits that freeze off will probably be the bits you want to keep."

Ten years in Kirkwall and the Marches had taken some of the shyness off him. There'd been no way he was going to go back to Ferelden, no matter what Teagan said. No, he'd stayed to the north, where it was warmer, but had ended up in mountains and underground more often than not. At least until--

That was stupid to think about.

"There's even food in there, for a bonus."

[skyward_eyes]

Now, in Nida's defense he was aware that snow had existed. And had seen it sometimes from the bridge of the Garden. Just hadn't, you know, been forced to deal with it like this. Still, he can't help but look up at Alister and he even managed a brief smirk. Which hurt almost immediately because the cold had more than chapped his lips raw.

"I'm pretty sure there aren't any bits I would want to lose," he countered as he tromped up the stairs. "Food almost sounds as good as fire. Almost."

Not his element. But he does make it all the way to the door before pausing to look back at the man, a curious tilt to his head. Should he ask? Would it be impolite? In this cold did he care?

"You can't tell me you're warm enough to just stay out here like this."

[nobroth]

Looking around himself, Alistair shrugged. Yes, the snow was deep, the wind was pretty terrible when it kicked up, they needed some shovels or plows or something to make the roads passable again, but, when it came down to it? "I've been in worse," he said. "Imagine this, but on a mountaintop, with a dragon. That was worse. You should see my scars. It chewed on me for a while."

And somehow, he said it with a flippant kind of cheer, as if he was saying 'why, yes, it is taco tuesday.'

[skyward_eyes]

Oh. Yeah, well, he supposed he could understand it when Alister put it like that. Some of his worst memories were of either dragons or dragon-like creatures. Sprinkle those or a Malboro liberally on any situation and it would definitely get worse.

"Most dragons I know of don't tolerate areas that get too cold, though, not unless they're hibernating. Giant lizards and all that, cold blooded. Well, except for Ruby ones. I imagine their fire magics keep them really warm... And now I could serious go for a Ruby Dragon shish-kabob lightly seasoned with hot peppers and salt."

Okay, maybe the idea of food was getting to him. Surely nothing the inn had here would equate to that sort of food, but as it could be hard to bring a ruby down it's not like he'd had that sort of meal more than twice. Once to celebrate a promotion after the war, but that was another matter altogether.

"Being in worse doesn't mean you have to stay in not as bad."

[nobroth]

"Eh." Another shrug. "I'm Fereldan. I'm just glad it's not raining and it doesn't smell like dogs. I've got pretty low standards for 'good.' But come on, let's at least get you warm."

It was a first, he thought. Here he was, listening to someone talk about dragon kabobs (that was a weird thought) and somehow the thought of it wasn't making him hungry. Very strange. He was used to being hungry all the time, but here, it was like he could actually get full. Huh. When this place took magic, maybe it took the Taint as well.

Interesting idea. The Calling had definitely gone away. Something to think about.

He stepped back and opened the door, motioning his new acquaintance past him and into the warmth of the inn.

[skyward_eyes]

"Good news, I have absolutely no idea what a Fereldan means," Nida let himself chuckle as he headed through the door, rubbing his hands up and down his arms the whole time. "Know what dogs are, though. So allergic that they really aren't nearly as adorable as everyone things."

Blessing to whatever god anyone wanted to worship, it was warm in here. Almost immediately Nida found himself slogging toward the fireplace. Could he possibly just lay down here and not get up? Someone send a message to Squall, he's died and gone to heaven, he won't be reporting in for duty anymore. Who knew heat could be so good?

"I'm from a more or less tropical area. The 'winter' for me was usually something like 'oh maybe it will get down to forty, better have wood chopped.' At least, that's what it was like when I was a kid."

Strangely enough he almost connected with those memories more now. They were still gone, but he knew enough of the general shape of them to think his life now fit in a bit better with who he had been before Garden. For instance, in Garden he'd be encouraged to head right up to his room, strip off his wet clothes, and immediately replace them with warm ones. Right now he was more content to bask in the fire's presence.

Jumped Up

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

It's the voice without a body that catches Thor's attention first, and it's the request for help that stops him in his tracks. He turns this way and that, eyes scanning the landscape for who might be in need of assistance, but he doesn't see anyone. That's strange. For some reason, he thinks to lift his gaze further from the horizon, and it's then that he sees a man ..

Floating.

And clinging dearly to a branch.

"Don't worry!" Thor exclaims, holding a hand up to the gentleman in an effort to provide comfort. "Hold onto the branch. I will return in a moment!" He quickly bolts off towards the Inn, remembering that he's seen various useful items there for village use. In a matter of moments, he's back and with a good length of paracord. It takes him a second to catch his breath (he's still not used to not having endless stamina), but once he does, he takes one end and throws it up. It .. doesn't quite make it. He clears his throat and then offers as an explanation, "I used to have superhuman strength before I came here. But it's been taken from me. I'll try again." The second time goes better than the first, and its trajectory is headed straight for the man.

[nobroth]

He watched the man run away. And he took bets with himself, silently, on whether or not he really would come back. When he did, that was a surprise, and then there was--

Okay, first there was something of a mistake. And then there was a cord arcing toward him and he risked a hand to take hold of it and wrap it around his arm. And that was more secure than the branch had been, at least. "Thank you!" he called down. "This is pretty ridiculous, even for me. And that's saying something."

But then it hit him and he had to ask, "Wait. Superhuman strength? What even is that?"

A silly question from a guy who had been clinging to a branch.

[assemble_the_lovbacken]

Thor lets out a victory yawp when the man catches the rope and secures it to himself. He's so caught up in his glee that he's raised both fists above his head only to stupidly remember he's got to hold onto the other end of the rope. With an exclamation of concern, he hurries to grip it and start reeling in the man, still floating in the sky. He lets out a series of nervous laughs as he recovers from his fumble.

"Don't worry! Don't worry, I've got you." Is he saying it to reassure the man or himself? He has no idea what he's going to do once he's brought the man closer to the ground, but maybe they could come up with a solution together. Where's Stark when he's needed? "It's strength that's better than a human's. Much better, actually. I don't know how many humans' worth of strength I had, but it was a lot. Lifting boulders was like lifting pebbles. That sort of thing."