TEST DRIVE MEME

[theflaws]

TEST DRIVE MEME

PREMISE PLOT ARRIVAL SETTING NAVIGATION

01. ARRIVING IN PELEA
A cold wind singing down from the white-capped mountains which hang blue-black in the distance stirs your cheek, the tall grass all around you. A bough creaks as the wind makes it tremble, and the dappled shadows drift over you, leaves rustling. As you blink awake, you hear the quiet hiss of water over stones. You are not where you once were!

You and a large group of strangers are blinking awake, pulling yourselves up off the dirt, grass, and rubble near a small wooded stream. There is no evidence of civilization in sight, and as you exchange stories you realize that you must decide what to do.

Will you head past the trees and towards the mountains? Deeper into the forest? Stay put and wait for help to arrive? You might even try to meet everyone else, and either convince them to band together... or head their separate ways.

02. CITY SLICKER
There are many cities throughout the world of Pelea, and in most player characters, the Flaws, are welcomed as curiosities. From the pastoral villages or bustling, grand cities of Shousal to the massive, sprawling bureaucratic centers of the Empire, your characters will find a wide variety of cultures and races to interact with and investigate. They could be seeking empoyment, answers to the mystery of their arrival, or a quiet place to drink away their worries.

03. WILDCARD!

Comments

[parkourprince]

Legolas was silent for a moment, considering the words. A lot of it was very strange, and not strange as Pelea was foreign to him, but strange as they, themselves, were to Pelea. His eyes were fixed upon the Man, hawk-like in the interest, but the smile was still friendly.

"Perhaps I may help you, if you only tell me the name of the kingdom you seek? I fear your new friend's advice might have been a jest, nothing more than that."

[nomanbutme]

Satisfied, Charles let the man go, shaking his hand loose before turning back towards the road. If necessary, he could ride with his dirk in hand, just to keep the man as quiet as possible. If possible, Charles would rather avoid getting jumped on the road, and a gibbering fool of a man would not help matters.

"Keep up," he said softly, kicking his horse into a trot. They had a lot of road to cover, and little time to cover it.

[tummyflowers]

"Well, mine would be just fine, but I'm actually trying to make it to Hortenzia. Buddy of mine, trying to rescue his true love, and me the devoted sidekick slash best friend." He chuckled lightly and easily. "Pretty standard stuff, really. Though, now that you mention it, that fellow did come off as a bit cheeky."

[tummyflowers]

He was silent, at the very least for a few minutes. And then he got into a bit of whispering to his real life actual dragon that was still perched upon his shoulder. It was a rather normal and one sided conversation as Richard speculated fiercely about the nature of their new comrade, whether he could be trusted, and if Tad Cooper felt at all prepared to fry him into a toasty corpse if he got handsy again. But then it all came down to providing a simple test.

Quietly and with a low (and affectedly intimidating) voice he offered the following. "You know, when my buddy and I were on a quest like this, we found the best way to pass the time was to do some singing. I know, I know, it's a little unorthodox. But it's baffling how much distance you can pass through between verses."

[espigeonage]

That is good to know. Truly though, I'm good! It was a small wound, and on the mend already. I heal fast.

[Yuuya doesn't have basically anything in the way of humanoid expressiveness. Even to someone who knows bird expressions he's not broadcasting much but confidence and ease. He's really alarmed and guilty and shaken about something, but compartmentalizing it all back.]

Ah! Indeed! Another aficionado of the stars, hmm?

[braavado]

No kidding. [It's a lot to take in. Korra rubs at her chin as she thinks it all over.]

They didn't send anyone else since that first guy? Weird. Especially if he's part of a group, like you said.

[braavado]

[At least he apologized for it, she notes. Her stance relaxes slightly, though her hard stare doesn't at all, especially when he casually lists out those offenses.]

Geez, you call that standard? No wonder people wanted to depose you if you're doing all of that while you're king.

[tummyflowers]

Hey, I'll admit, I've made a few mistakes here and there. But aren't we more worried about getting in there instead?

[Because all that glaring is a little unsettling. She has a dangerous look about her, despite her youth. The last thing he wants is to go and get chastised for things he will readily admit might have been unethical.]

[teratias]

The travel time might be a factor, depending on where he came from and where he had to go. That he's dead now is certain, but it is likely that we moved fast enough that anyone else sent missed us.

Splitting up probably helped too.

[braavado]

"Hey now," she laughed, pointing at him with mock-anger. "Just because you won this time, doesn't mean I can't beat you later on. Just you wait."

Still smiling, Korra turned her head slightly to study the streets below. It was odd, watching people go about their business as if nothing was wrong, when she knew otherwise. She shook her head. "You think any of them even know that people like us are just...getting dropped into their world?"

You shouldn't encourage me.

[ordealer]

Yeah, it was...it was a thing in the tavern. Apparently it was a fiddle-off and it would only get worse as they got increasingly drunk and increasingly desperate in their attempts to be the last solo fiddler standing. The only clear loser: everyone else’s hearing.

He’d been getting almost comfortable when the interruption came. Completely oblivious that the sack of personal goods was actually a foot and a half away from his left elbow and that a careless roll could crush it he...almost took off his helmet, but then went wait.

No.

Why- no. “Are you the owner?” It came out more accusatory than he intended, but...no, he was going to accept it. It wasn’t the loudest over the sounds of the increasing rain, but it still sounded like cats were being slaughtered in the distance. That would set anyone who could hear on edge.

[that one kermitnod as seen on plurk]

[ordealer]

Meanwhile, Kain was on foot - if pressed he alluded to some kind of recent trouble which felled his horse, and he had yet to find the time to procure an appropriate replacement. In actuality, it was more that there was something deeply disconcerting about horses that he couldn’t quite explain and so wasn’t in a hurry. They seemed decent enough creatures, and he’d ridden one about a few times and found they had a better gait than chocobos on average. A well bred chocobo still beat a horse by far, easily, but between an average chocobo and an average horse? Kain would have to give the win to the horse.

But seeing them being ridden about with nary a bird in sight was wrong in some fundamental way, like the world had been tilted upon its axis and he shouldn’t take anything he knew for granted anymore if something as basic and as common as a chocobo was nowhere to be found.

But, all of this was besides the point. And the point was…

“You?”

That Kain didn’t see that declaration of bull-slaying coming. Not malicious, but more...surprised, somewhat. It was like meeting a dwarf who confessed that they had gotten over living underground and had plans to move to a sunny country and start an arboretum.

“Hm. Forgive me, it’s not that you seem incapable. You just did not seem the type.”

You know, we really do meet in a lot of tdms.

[ordealer]

He’d been half-hoping that he’d be told nonsense, we’re clearly heading in a different direction - if you look here, at this branch, there’s not a mark which we left there so while it looks the same it really isn’t. Not expecting, but it would’ve been really nice if he had been the one who was wrong.

Really, really nice.

“How well can you climb?” Despite the question he was grimly approaching the tree - testing branches, eyeing the height - because he had a feeling about how this would end and it would involve a great deal of climbing.

[nomanbutme]

Charles sighed, not even bothering to try and not look like he feels oh, oh so very put-upon. He pushes his scarf back over half of his face to avoid breathing in too much dust, and slows his horse enough to be by the other's man's flank.

"Sing, and I'll leave you to the roadside crews that will most definitely hear you, and attack you. That's a nice coat you've got here, I'm sure they'll make a decent amount of money off of it, and that's not even considering your jewelry. They'll let me be on my way if I deliver you to them, I'm sure."

A hand on the hilt of his rapier, Charles went on. "I don't care if you have no concern for your own survival, or simply you're just too rich to ever have to concern yourself with it. But I've got somewhere to be, and I don't have time for a scuffle with bandits just because you couldn't keep your mouth shut."

Charles is used to taciturn men, Jack notwithstanding. And even Jack would know to just keep quiet and ride hard on a road such a this, where raids are common. Charles' side pouch was too heavy to big stopped by cutpurses.


((ooc: because I had the gif in a tab, I just wanted to point out that this is totally the face Richard made Charles do XDDD never stop Richard never stop))

[braavado]

Even if they missed you guys after that, we still have to be careful.

[She looks grim at this point. In her experience, being rounded up doesn't mean anything good.]

Did he say anything before he--you know. [She bites her lip, uncomfortable with the way things were handled.]

[teratias]

If there was anything else important said, I wasn't told of it.

[It isn't a satisfying answer, not by a long shot, and Waver sighs after saying it. Really, it is sort of amazing how useless he feels after stopping to voice all of this. Prior to, his focus on traveling had permitted him to ignore everything else going on.]

I'm sorry I can't say anything more positive.

[braavado]

You had about as much luck as I did, remember?

[Before, she might have simply knocked a hole in their wall and demanded answers, but with most of her elements gone, she's nowhere near as confident as she used to be.

Now that she's had some time to calm down, Korra realizes Richard looks familiar. Lips pursed, Korra looks Richard over again, this time with narrowed eyes.]

I think I remember seeing you when I woke up near the stream. You just got here a few days ago, right?

[braavado]

[Korra's quick to shake her head.]

No--it's. It's not your fault. You already helped a lot, telling me what you know. [A pause.] I've just got a bad feeling about that group. If they had anything to do with us getting dumped in this world...

[teratias]

Then what their greater goals are is a concern. I agree entirely, and I don't like that there's magic going across worlds. That's-- [Well, possible, in theory. Goodness knows that magecraft and it's various schools of thought believed that hopping worlds or dimensions was plausible. Seeing it in action, however, was considered to be nothing short of a genuine miracle requiring an untold amount of power.]

Whoever's responsible probably has too much power as-is.

[tummyflowers]

[This he can deal with. Being recognized is just something he expects, even though it happens far less often than he'd like.]

I do stand out in a crowd, but I was there. It was rather odd, really. I had separated from the others after spotting a coin in the dirt. Before I knew it, the damned thing was glowing and I was waking up with a bunch of strangers with no one I recognized, other than Tad Cooper who came with me.

[tummyflowers]

Richard listened, nodded in complete understanding, and entirely sympathized with the point being made.

"You know, it's honestly that kind of paranoia that leads to a short and friendless life. Now, I don't claim to be a headologist, but there's no harm in having a little more faith in your fellow man. Hard as it may be for you to believe, I was once a man whose very name inspired fear across the land." He turned to Charles, his expression grim. "I have walked this road you're on before, my friend. You won't like where it leads."

This had never been his intention when he accidentally ran into this random stranger just less than five minutes ago, but he'd already taken up the role of mentor to this poor lost soul. It was not a role he took lightly, even if he felt poorly prepared to have to teach when he considered himself to still be a learner.

After a moment, he realized this might be confusing, since he had actually just been on this literal path they were on because he'd been going the wrong way. He quickly added: "Literally and metaphorically, of course."

[calicojack]

Jack glanced down at the tankard in his hand, then back up at Charles, and it was obvious he was reluctant to tell his former captain the truth, not when the other man had been so productive since coming here and Jack had done nothing but wallow in his own misfortune. Eventually, he shrugged, expression resigned, and lifted the tankard slightly to indicate it.

"Something akin to my current activity, only in larger quantities and at great length. Not my finest hour, clearly," he admitted "But should your new flag be in need of a capable quartermaster, well, I would be happy to volunteer my... more sober services." his tone was casual, as if he didn't care one way or another, but he hoped Charles knew him well enough to understand what he really meant. 'I would be happy to volunteer my services' meant, in this instance 'please take me with you'.

A for I like this, Another!

[highflights]

I sure hope not.

[ The cape was attracting unwanted attention, but Kara still has her blue uniform with the large resplendent S peeking out from under the cloak. She flashes Korra a small smile. ]

You mind sharing the fire?

[ Heat vision is probably not a good plan. ]

Omg more cr that I need

[braavado]

Nope. [Korra relaxes, smiling back at Kara now that she isn't in danger of being arrested...again.

She gestures at her to take a seat beside her.]

There's enough fish to share, if you're hungry, too.

hoards

[highflights]

[ Kara smiles, brightly, and sits, cross-legged. ]

Thank you. I'm Kara. I'm new to the city.