Test Drive Meme

[darstone]

Comment here with your characters that you're thinking of bringing into LR, and tag around with other people to see how suitable they'd be for the game! As a note, these threads may be used for application samples, which are opening August 11th. So get your samples ready ahead of time with this meme! However, even if all participants are accepted with those characters, these threads will not be game canon. This meme is taking place in the setting of Darstone, so while you may leave your comment blank, I'd like to recommend you set up a scene or two in your initial comment. Some suggested settings are provided below, but make up whatever you'd like based off the setting pages! ⑴ Marketplace. There's a lot to do in the market-- not just buying goods and window shopping, but sitting down for a cup of coffee at an outdoor table, or getting a drink at a bar. ⑵ Housing. You've just gotten here and finally made it to your assigned apartment, but it turns out you have roommates, and they're one of them. ⑶ Adventuring. Whether out into the surrounding caves or taking a boat onto the lake, you're adventuring, maybe on a quest. Whoever's with you might be a member of your party-- or they might be trying to beat you to the reward. ⑷ Snow. What's snow doing in a cave? Isn't this weird? Well, Darstone is situated under a frosty mountain peak, and from time to time the local mages like to simulate the weather that's going on up above. That means there's some very light, fluffy snow falling from the cave ceiling right now.

Comments

[guiltapalooza]

[She's only now realizing this, having been in such a hurry before, and it makes her grin fade into a slight, uncertain frown as she takes a step back. Given how many worlds are represented here, that uniform could really mean anything, but Willow is instinctively cautious once she catches on. Being Jewish, just seeing it makes her spine tingle.

It's probably not a good idea to bring it up just yet.]

Snow is sort of new for me. I'm from California-- um, somewhere warm. Can I hear what this awesome and fun thing is before agreeing to it?

[garantundkraft]

Oh yeah, that's one of Amerika's states, right? He talks about it a lot. Er. Alfred. American kid I know back home. ::...Uh. Let's not talk about other countries like they are people in front of people who most likely don't know countries are also people.:: Isn't that where they film movies? The Wizard of Oz was awesome but don't tell my boss I said that.

::Oh. Right. Awesome plan.::

Well, you see all this snow, ja? ::He scoops up a handful and begins packing it into a ball.:: What we do is we hide behind, say, this here field work -snow work. Whatever- and we surprise people with snowball assaults! ::See this wide grin? This enthusiasm? This is the most awesome plan, really. You want to join him.::

[guiltapalooza]

[Willow hasn't spent seven years investigating unbelievable paranormal phenomena for nothing, and she knows a fishy explanation when she hears one. Her eyebrows go up, but personification of a country is far from anyone's first thought, so she has no guesses at all at what he's hiding. And truthfully she's still too concerned with the other part, his plan, to give it much thought.]

Yeah, Hollywood-- but I'm a small town girl, sorry. Not nearly that exciting. How about we ask people if they have a snowball fight instead of divebombing them? I'm not so much into assault, even with snow as my weapon.

[Sorry, but her sense of compassion is too strong to let her randomly attack strangers, and she's still frowning at him over his uniform.]

[garantundkraft]

But... but! Then they have time to prepare defenses! I mean, yeah, sure, you can warn your enemy that you're about to go to war with them, which is the gentlemanly thing to do, but then what if they can make their army- er, well, snow fort, in this case- better than yours?

Not that I'm not a genius tactician and couldn't defeat them anyways -oh man, I should've gotten a portrait done of that prissy aristocrat's face when I outflanked him back in- anyways not important the point is that ambush tactics are awesome!

[guiltapalooza]

Except we're not actually going to war, [she says sternly, though it's hard to take her too seriously about it.] This is supposed to be for fun, you know, F-U-N? Winning is sort of aside the point. [She's game for throwing snowballs at people, but she's way too rule-abiding to ambush with them.]

Besides, I wanted to ask you... I mean-- is that-- [She forces herself to start over.] Are you a reenactor or something?

[Please oh please be a reenactor.]

[garantundkraft]

...Re-enactor? What would I be re-enacting? ::That question throws him for a loop, such that he can ignore the fact that she just said winning was not the point of engaging in snow warfare.::

I mean, if I were going to do that, I'd have a lot more braid and probably some really heavy epaulets and even in this weather I'd be borderline miserable because that much wool? Is about as uncomfortable as you think.

::Wait, he's rambling, isn't he? Sorry. He doesn't do well with women.:: Ah. But, no. This is my uniform if that's what you meant. Gilbert Beilschmidt, uh... ::Give him a minute whilst he tugs his coat collar out to double check the rank insignia.:: Presently Oberscharführer, Waffen-SS. Huh. Could've sworn... eh, not important. It's about time the boss stopped insisting on officer ranks. Like I don't stand out enough as it is. ::That last sentence said whilst pointing at his eyes. Yep. Albinism does tend to stand out, especially when you're the stereotypical sort.::

[guiltapalooza]

... World war two? [she says weakly.] But this is really sounding like-- not acting. And not re-anything.

[Willow did too well in school, and was too well informed about social issues, not to recognize the S.S. by its proper name. She doesn't know German, so the rank is beyond her, but he'd made it clear that it was a rank, an officer rank. He seemed nice, and snow bombing people was fairly innocent as far as crimes went, but Willow had seen nice people turn into murderers a thousand times. She'd done it herself. It didn't mean anything.

But alternate universes, magic shenanigans, that meant she couldn't be sure what it meant. She takes a wary step back, uncertain. She could protect herself easily, but in her mind she still felt like a helpless teenage girl sometimes, and this was one of those times.]

You're not doing anything for them here, are you? Just checking. That's really something I should check. I'm Willow-- Rosenberg. [Thankfully that's not an obviously Jewish surname, just a German one.]

[garantundkraft]

::Well, non-commissioned officer, though one of the higher ranking ones. Which suits him well enough. And goodness knows while he's plenty nice, the fact remains that he's killed more than his fair share of people. On the battlefield, mind you. Still.::

Huh? Nope. Kind of just... got dragged here? Wasn't really planning on being in this place. I was kind of busy kicking Russian arse, never mind it was pretty cold, and then... there I am in this doctor's office.

Rosenberg? I'd ask if you knew where exactly your ancestors are from, but that's a pretty common name.

[guiltapalooza]

[She feels her heart sink a little when he confirms her suspicion that he really is from WW2. If he was fighting Russia, then he had to be. But everything aside from that is so normal, so very normal, and Willow forcibly reminds herself that she isn't the sidekick anymore. She hasn't been for a long time. There's no Buffy here, and if one of the newcomers is dangerous, it's partly her responsibility to leash them. It's not like she's incapable of it, it's just hard to ignore her instincts that tell her to get away and go find Buffy.

Buffy isn't here. There's no one to find. And truthfully, it hasn't been bad so far.

Willow takes a breath, and manages a slight smile, weak as it is from uncertainty.] Um... I think Eastern Germany, actually, but it was a few generations back and they kinda don't like to talk about it. They left cause of the war. Since I'm from the... future...

[She hurries on.] So I guess being here is sort of like an unscheduled vacation? [A hopeful look.] You won't have to worry about all of the-- war stuff.

[garantundkraft]

Oh, I'm Prussia...n myself. I get the whole leaving 'cause of the war thing. My old boss left 'cause of everything; moved to Switzerland I think? It's been about a decade, so... ::He clears his throat.

Then he winks at her.:: If it's all the same to you, though, I'm not gonna answer that until I know word won't somehow get back to the boss. Which is really answer enough if anyone is gonna tell him anything, but there's a pretty big difference between saying something that maybe implies treason and either actually saying such things or not. Right? Right.

::Hey, he gets that Germany is not a popular nation right now. It's... part of the reason they're at war. German treatment of Jews and other 'undesirables' just doesn't come to mind.::

So, if you're not a fan of ambush tactics -I don't know why; they're the best- and we have to actually ask people... You know anyone here who'd be up for a snowball fight?

[guiltapalooza]

[Against her better instincts, Willow is starting to relax. He's so... well... charming. She really shouldn't let that affect her, but she's never been that good at being distrustful. And she thinks she can understand him not wanting to answer until he knows his boss won't hear very well. If that's the truth, it paints a clear picture.

Her smile turns a little more natural and sympathetic.] I think there's a big difference, possibly a huge one. Your secret's safe with me. [She mimes turning a lock above her lips. Honestly she doesn't want to keep worrying about this; it's deeply unsettling and he brings up a good point: it's all matters that don't touch this world.

Which leaves her with...] Hmmm, you know what, I might. [A grin.] I'm sure I can find someone-- or, or two someones, so we can have two on two.

[garantundkraft]

::Willow, don't go around telling people that this Gilbert Beilschmidt fellow is 'charming'. If someone who knows Prussia hears about this, they are going to want you to have your head examined, because charming is generally the last adjective they would associate with Prussia.

It's also very much the truth.:: Ah, see. You've got common sense; that's good. ::He nods, offering a conspiratorial wink.::

Two someones, you think? Awesome! ::Look at him being good and not even making a dirty joke about that~:: What are we waiting for? Let's go!