August-September Testo Doraivu!

[indigo_league]

TEST DRIVE MEME

➞ Post with a character you wish to test drive in this game's setting.
➞ Tag other people's starters and thread out shenanigans!
➞ Invite your friends! Try out new characters! Come play with us!
➞ Have fun!


NOT SURE WHERE TO BEGIN YOUR TEST-DRIVE JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT ALL THE LOCATIONS WE HAVE AVAILABLE IN:

JOHTO | and | KANTO

ALSO, AS PROMPTS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: Last month's mini-events!

Effect: Friday, July 8: Flower Gift - All day, despite the season, flowers drift down from the sky. They’re harmless, beautiful, and smell lovely, but if trainers aren’t careful, they might end up trudging through rosedrifts up to their knees before long.
Swarm: Tuesday, July 12: Spinda
Effect: Friday, July 15 to Sunday, July 17: Worry Seed - Affected characters won’t be able to get any sleep. Does that make your character cranky? Does it damage their brain-to-mouth filter? The effects can last as little or as long as you’d like over this weekend.
Effect/Swarm Double Duty: Friday, July 22: Surf - Large waves appear in all bodies of water, including things like bathtubs and your Sawsbucks drinks (it’s just bean water, you know). Be careful on the ocean, but also, hang ten, dudes! The waves won’t destroy anything, but trainers are going to get wet on this ride. Also, oh god, small jellyfish Pokemon (Tentacool, Frillish, Inkay) happen to be swarming randomly in these bodies of water. GANBATTE, VICTORY ROAD.
Effect: Friday, July 29: Haze - The forecast is misty inside and out on this oddly cool July day. Affected trainers will find it difficult to remember things, whether those happened long ago or just five minutes past. The memories aren’t gone, of course, it’s just…foggy.
Swarm: Sunday, July 31: Illumise and Volbeat


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OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
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Comments

Anders | Dragon Age

[purramedic]

[VIDEO]
[This is fine.

This is fine. Everything is great! Why would he need to worry about the gargantuan mess (understatement of the age) he left behind when he was whisked away to this place, or the hollow, dead feeling in his body from suddenly lacking all semblance of Justice, magic, and his connection to the Fade? There are far more pressing matters to attend to now. Like how cute his pink cat is.

The pink cat is absolutely more important than all of that.

Once it's supposedly turned on, he holds up the strange "PokeGear" and points it at her.]

I understand this device lets me communicate with others from a great distance. Is this cat native to a faraway land? I think I've discovered a new breed, otherwise.

I'm concerned for her tail, though -- every time I try to remove the needles from it, she shies away. She must be in pain, but I'm at a loss of how to help without my -- ah, usual healing methods.

[His hands sure are shaking a lot for a guy who's just showing off his Skitty.]

[ACTION | Route 29]
[If anyone happens to stumble upon him in the woods, he'll be seated with the Pokemon, talking softly at her and expressing more concern about the supposed pins and needles.]

Anders | Dragon Age

[brokencode]

[Angel noted the shake in feed she had stumbled across. She wanted to tell herself that was what stopped her, that she was looking out for someone who was just as lost as she had been once.]

[But in all honesty, it was the cat that stopped her.]

I believe that's a skitty! She is indeed native to a faraway land, this faraway land to be exact.

[Angel paused. With her initial excitement out of the way, it was time to proceed with some amount of delicacy.]

I know it must be strange, to be here. I was very unnerved at first. Can I help you at all?

[purramedic]

"Skitty." Odd name for a cat. Honest, I suppose.

[He's hesitant to turn the device around and look at who he's speaking with. By now, he knows enough that she can't see him as long as he can't see her, and he isn't eager to announce himself to any templars -- or anyone, really, at this point -- in the area.

Her voice sounds kind, though that would probably change if she saw him, so he'll keep the view on his Skitty.]

Please don't think me ungrateful, but I doubt there's much help left for me.

You said "at first." Were you taken, as well?

[brokencode]

Names here are incredibly odd. I have a sheep pokemon named Mareep. It sounds like the Bo-Peep and Mary, from Mary had a little lamb. And my friend has a pokemon called a Torchic. Torch and chicken. Very silly.

[Angel's lips twitched into a frown. Once she had settled into her new home, people had begun to stop asking that sort of question. Those who needed to know about where she had come from had their answers, and by now it seemed that, for better or worse, her original warning had ebbed from the minds of her fellow citizens.]

[It was easier for her to not think about where she came from. There were reminders enough in the form of her father, after all. But the man on the other end of the line certainly hadn't meant any harm, and he seemed distressed enough without her snapping at him.]

I was. I think you will find that most people here were taken from their homes and lives. For some it is distressing. For others... For myself... this place is a welcome respite.

[Her expression became somewhat bitter, enough for her to be grateful that the man didn't appear to be looking at her.]

I think you will also find that even the most undeserving people have found their help, even if... others... say differently. [She cleared her throat.] Make no mistake, of course. I am not saying that you are undeserving.

[purramedic]

[This place only gets more confusing by the second. But at least it's an adequate distraction from his ordeal, for the time being.]

I'm afraid I don't know any shepherdesses named Mary, or what a Bo-Peep is.

[He crouches to take a seat on the ground and coaxes the Skitty over, scratching the top of her head as she curls up by his feet.]

I still haven't decided whether my being here is a blessing or a curse. Perhaps a bit of both.

[He mulls over her words for a moment, almost certain she would change her tune if she knew his name or his face. Some lonely part of him wants to take that chance, but he restrains himself -- impressively, considering the past decade. But still, he is curious...] If you don't mind my asking, where did you come from that being spirited away is... well, better?

[brokencode]

[As bad as she felt for laughing at him, when an amused giggle manages to burst from her lips, it brings a sense of relief. At least this conversation wasn't going to be completely dour, even if it did take a turn back to the negative.]

Never mind. They are characters in children's stories where I come from.

[Angel's amusement continues as Anders pets the small cat-creature. The smile on her face is wide and entirely pure. She'd have to try and figure out where she could get a skitty for herself, it seemed.]

[Of course, the light-hearted chatter and underlying mirth quickly faded as the conversation twists back to the subjects she'd be better off avoiding. The only reason she even considered speaking was the off-chance that it might help the man feel a little better himself.]

[Always the self-sacrificing one, she noted.]

I come from a place where it is perfectly reasonable for a father to lock up his daughter. Where having a one of a kind ability is punished and treated as a curse, rather than a gift.

I never knew freedom until I came here. It has come with its own costs, but I'd like to think they are worth it.

[purramedic]

[His hand stills (mostly; its trembling resumes for a few seconds) on the Pokemon's head, and her tail twitches at the change. Only after she nudges him does he resume his ministrations.

As far as he's concerned, he doesn't need to ask what the stranger hinting at.]

It seems we have something in common. I am sorry you suffered that. [In a way, he can see how being taken here could be good for those like him, but not guilty of his crimes. At least, if the danger of the Order is truly absent.] Then, there are none who would oppress you here?

[brokencode]

[Loath as she had been to discuss other matters, this particular issue is one of importance. As amicable as her relationship with Jack had been of late, she wasn't about to let her guard down. And if it was as the man said, if they once had something in common... It was better that he knew, just in case.]

There is only one person. My father, the man who kept me locked away, is here too. [Angel shook off a shiver.] But you shouldn't let that change your opinion of this place. His oppression is of a personal nature. On the whole, this is a peaceable place.

[purramedic]

[The poor girl. It isn't his business to inquire further into her personal matters, but the least he can do is offer something in return for her help.] Should you ever need to elude him, I would be honored to help. [He does have a lot of experience hiding, after all.]

But this place; peaceable, you say... For all? Truly? [It sounds far too good to be true, but he's gathered that he must be a great distance from all the lands he's familiar with. They could very well be out of the Chantry's grasp.]

[brokencode]

You are not the first to offer that. And he certainly won't be the last, she thought. It was a comforting thought in a way, knowing that so many people were willing to watch out for her.

I... hope that does not make me sound ungrateful. It is good to know that there are more good people here than the bad ones that followed me.

For the first time since their conversation started, Angel found herself wishing that the other man could see her. She wanted to offer him a comforting smile, to show that she meant well, just as everyone else did.

I admit that I am new to this world, and so there is much I do not know. I have no doubts that there is some amount of malevolence in this place, but nothing so... oppressive, it would seem. [Her expression turned thoughtful.] That being said, I would like to extend the same courtesy to you. Should you ever find anyone pursuing you, tell me. I... am still weak from my previous life but... I know many strong people that have spent their lives helping others. I have no doubts that they would extend the courtesies they've granted me to you.

[Now she paused, interrupted only by a short giggle.] All this and we do not know each other's names. You can call me Angel.

[purramedic]

Not at all. It's good to hear that you're not facing trouble alone.

[For better or worse, he's comfortable -- or is it desperate? -- enough now to turn the device away from the Skitty and toward himself. The angle is somewhat awkward thanks to his lack of complete understanding of how the camera works, but his face is visible.]

I've had quite a bit of practice finding my own way, but I thank you. [He simply can't accept her offer; he isn't a good man like she thinks, and he would feel horribly guilty asking her to harbor someone of his standing. Besides, he may not need it after all.]

"Angel." That's lovely. I'm called Anders.

[brokencode]

[Angel was quiet for a moment, taking in the appearance of the man, Anders she reminded herself, in front of her. She had seen a great deal of curious apparel in her "adventures" back home (nothing quite beat the skin masks), but this certainly took the cake. It suddenly made sense why he might not know about her bedtime stories — he looked as if he had come from one himself.]

You have quite the name yourself. It is wonderful to meet you, so to speak.

[Even in the face of his denial, her reassuring smile did not fade. She simply nodded once, not quite convinced to back off.]

I understand. Just know that should you ever need it, I am willing to help. I spent many years lending a hand where I could. Old habits die hard, it seems.

[purramedic]

And you, as well.

I appreciate the offer. More traits we share, it would seem.

[There's a stark contrast to how he sees her, however. He wouldn't have considered her as young as she looks based on her voice, and certainly not so scrawny and sickly.]

Are you alright? I mean no offense, but you look like you could use a healer. I could --

[His expression changes quickly as the state of things falls back onto him with a crushing weight. The hollow feeling continues digging its way into his chest. As he tries to gather himself, his throat dries and his hands shake once more.

It takes a moment before he swallows the pain and rights himself.]

I... suppose I don't know anyone who could help at the moment. I'm sorry to be so rude.

[ACTION]

[hawkethat]

[Anders totally wanted to be interrupted from his musing by a bouncy black and brown puppy, right? Because there's a stocky little Houndour frolicking through the woods ahead of her new trainer, and once she spots the pair she approaches them excitedly to say hello.

She's followed in very short order by her trainer, who starts to admonish her as soon as he sees she's pestering someone, and whose correction sputters out almost as soon as he's started, mid-word as he sees who, exactly, she's pestering.

There's a long, awkward moment as Hawke stares, realizes he's staring and shifts his gaze away - to the trees, to the weird little cat, to his own new, funny-looking puppy...

This day has been one long, exhausting series of surprises - cut off from the Fade, some strange woman claiming to be his mother, a new puppy that he didn't ask for or particularly want, obnoxiously cheerful background music...and now, of all the possible people he could have run into in the woods, it's one toward whom his feelings are so mixed he hasn't even begun to work them out.

Fortunately - or not - his obnoxious mouth can be trusted to pick up the slack when his brain is busy - or, in this case, rendered temporarily non-functional as it shuts down and performs a manual restart.]

...Lovely day for a walk in the woods, isn't it?

Action

[laughingstawke]

[To be honest, she really didn't understand anything that was happening. She remembered a massive flash, the cacophony of falling masonry and then...]

[And then, Anders with a cat.]

[There was a little in-between. A woman who most definitely wasn't her mother, wasn't a cobbled together abomination. But she handed her a backpack of food, which was well-enough. With her luck, it was laced with some poison or another but... she could at least die a full woman.]

[But all that wasn't important. There was Anders. With a cat. Which meant whatever was happening to her, there was something right in the world.]

[Marian cleared her throat, hands coming to rest over her chest as her right brow began to hover over her eye.]

Dare I ask what magic you weaved to summon that thing? Or... any of this?

[purramedic]

[Oh. Oh, boy. OHHHH boy. Things could not get more fine. Once moment, he's distracting himself with the Skitty, and the next he's sweating bullets. Whatever those are.

As much as he'd come to not expect to see a familiar face here, and as much as he hoped he wouldn't, he's now starting to suspect that this in, in fact, a terrible nightmare. Hawke's presence compounds his anxiousness, which is, at this point, very close to graduating to sheer panic.

But he can hold it together.

Probably.]

It... wasn't me. She was just. Here.

[laughingstawke]

A cat just happens to show up where you are? I believe the blighted anti-mage rhetoric more than I believe that.

[Hawke's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. She'd known Anders for six long years. She'd fought with him, side-by-side, against templars and abominations alike. It had been her hand that had steadied him, pulling him back from the brink time and time again.]

[Never mind that three of those years had been spent in and out of each other's beds.]

[If she knew anything, after all these years, it was Anders. His sensitivities. His weaknesses. Above all, she knew when something was on his mind.]

Do you... remember anything? About...

[About what? Where did she even begin, when she could barely piece together her own memories.]

[purramedic]

No, I... It's just what happens here. [As far as he's been told, anyway. But Hawke doesn't seem to have any sort of familiar... Then again, she's never really been one for conformity, by his estimation.

He tries to swallow the lump forming in his dry throat, but his apprehension only continues to rise. Part of him wants to pick up his cat and sprint away as fast as he can, but in his fear, his legs feel too weak to lift him, much less carry him.

There are no words that come that could justify what he'd done when he last saw her. Not without Justice's influence on his mind. So he panics.

It isn't the first time he's lied to her face.]

Remember -- ? No. About what?

[laughingstawke]

Mm. [She leveled one last skeptical look at the man before kneeling down beside him. She reached a hand out and, upon a sniff and a soft mewl, began scratching at its pink head. Strange indeed.]

Nothing, nothing at all. [Her voice was distant, caught up in the crackling of stone pillars, of blinding red light, a hot dusty breeze and then...]

[A looming sense of dread. That was all that followed.]

[She lifted her hand to the bridge of her nose, shaking her head as she did. Whatever it was, the memory was staying lodged firmly in some distant part of her brain.]

I cannot shake the feeling that something awful has happened... [A faint frown crossed her lips, followed by a sarcastic snort. The sense of foreboding looming over them was entirely outside of her style.] Suppose Dog might have torn up my pillows. Or perhaps Sandal has broken my chandelier.

Again.

[purramedic]

[Causing her more confusion, and their friends blame that is his alone, stirs up in him a different sort of guilt altogether. Continuing like this could only cause more damage. Anders isn't certain whether he feels small and insignificant, enormous and dangerous, or all of them at once. But would admitting the lie immediately make her feel better, or worse?

Of course, given her words, her memory is unclear. Perhaps his could be mistaken for the same.

He watches nervously as the Skitty arches and rubs the length of its back along her hand. It's certainly taken an immediate liking to her.]

Something awful... [The words are tight in his throat. He stumbles over them.] Yes, I... I think you're right after all.

[laughingstawke]

Suppose we're dead then. [Hawke spoke with the same, unaffected tone she was so used to. She gave an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders, before completely flopping down into the grass then.] I imagine Meredith sent a team in our sleep. You always did wonder how long we could get by with my influence alone.

[Her words seemed to spark something in her memory. A wooden clatter against loose cobbles, and Meredith...]

[Bloody Meredith, what had she done? Jokes aside, she knew she was missing something. She had to be missing something. There was no way the woman had managed to sneak past Bodahn, Sandal, her mabari, and manage to slay the two of them in their sleep. Surely, if anything, Justice would have...]

[Justice would have...]

[She lifted her gaze, brows furrowing over her eyes. Her heart ached, and with it came a sudden wave of adrenaline through her. It felt like she was trying to think through a fog of ale, an impermeable, blurry sort of membrane behind which red lights and horrific explosions loomed...]

What in the name of the Maker happened, Anders?

[purramedic]

No. We're not dead, from what I can tell. [He almost wishes he was, but he's glad that it isn't so if Hawke is here as well. If he'd been responsible for her death... That isn't something he wants to dwell on for long.

The look on her face is enough to tell him that she remembers. There's no hiding now, although he wants to more than anything, to spare them both the heartache. He could hide behind more lies, or blame Justice -- after all, he'd admitted more than once that there was less of him and more of the spirit in him with each passing day. But that would only be a greater lie. He made the deal, after all, knowing what it would entail.

Even so, he turns away, unable to look at her when he speaks.]

I happened. I felt I had no other choice. It's no excuse... but it is what happened.

[laughingstawke]

Anders...

[His confirmation helped some of the pieces fall into place. While the bulk of what happened was hazy, the important details were clear. The chantry and all of its inhabitants were dead.]

[In some ways, she was glad she was on the ground. She couldn't fathom taking the news standing up. She'd been able to laugh in the face of many things, including her own brother's betrayal. But her lover ending the lives of the countless faithful. It was blasphemy, it was monstrous...]

[But she had seen both man and spirit warped. What once might have been out of the question for Anders had gone by the wayside.]

Anders... [For the first time in what felt like ages, Marian's silver tongue had fallen silent. Nothing seemed to click into place in her head. She was left to merely quietly contemplate what had befallen them.]

You... We had allies in the church. Elthina was willing to listen. She sympathized with our plight.

[purramedic]

I know. I told myself a hundred times, and I still do. But nothing was changing. Nothing would have ever changed if --

[He draws a long, trembling breath and shakes his head.]

I don't want to justify what I did. And I don't expect you to forgive me, or even continue to tolerate me.

[His heart thuds in his throat. Again, trying to gulp it down doesn't help. The worst part of this isn't even admitting that he's a murderer. Most of all, he hates the disappointment in her voice. He would rather her brand him a traitor in rage and end his guilt in a moment.]

If you judge my actions inexcusable, I will gladly suffer whatever punishment you see fit.

[laughingstawke]

[If there could be anything more distressing than what she was currently feeling, it was the implication in Anders' voice. It wasn't that she was offended at the thought, but rather at how deeply she might have considered it in another world.]

[Once, she might have been selfish enough to have let him live. There wasn't a world in which she could imagine being without him. But this went beyond them. And if there was anything she cared for more than Anders, it was the mages that saw her as a hero.]

[The mages that would have to bear the consequences of what Anders had done. Without his punishment, they surely would suffer.]

[But this was, very clearly not Kirkwall, or even Thedas at all, it seemed. As her grief faded into a dull ache, and the shadows of memories settled into the back of her mind, Hawke could feel a strange hollowness in her very core.]

[The fade itself was gone.]

[She doubted that Anders hadn't noticed. She had half a mind to bring it up, anything to move away from her troubled thoughts. But Anders wouldn't be dissuaded so easily.]

I am afraid I didn't pack my guillotine on this impromptu journey. Perhaps another time.