farsickooc | Test Drive Meme #1

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*test drive meme

Test Drive Meme #1

Welcome to Fernweh's Test Drive Meme! Do you have an interest in joining the game? Need to make sure the setting works for you and your character first? Or have you made the decision to join the game and need fresh samples for your application? Whatever the reason, feel free to use the scenarios however you wish.

You know what to do! If you don’t, just follow the instructions.

How To Play:

→ Comment with the character you would like to test drive (duplicates are allowed)
→ Choose a scenario or start your own
→ Tag around
→ Have fun!

SCENARIOS

01. Arrival

You have been sitting and staring at the sign above you for some time now, lost in a blur of swirling questions that seems to start with how you ended up there; in a place (and time, maybe) that you know you weren't an hour earlier. Or maybe you're an old hand at this by now and you've figured out that this is simply another stop that the multiverse bus has made. So why not get off and look around a little?

At any rate, the sign points you towards the direction of a place called "Gazin", which looks like a decent-sized town from where you stand. There has to be someone who can explain.

02. Around Town

So, you've settled in. Well, mostly. At least you know where things are without taking too many wrong turns and ending up in the less desirable areas of town. But now you can go about your day. Visit the market, check out the local shops or have a drink with a new friend at one of several inns.

03. Exploring

You've heard people talk about some pretty interesting places and now you're itching to get out and find them. Be careful though, there are creatures and monsters out there that will be pretty interested in meeting you and may wish to have you for its next meal. Better take someone along. And maybe some weapons, too. Make sure one is made of silver.

04. Monsters

So, you managed to find that location you were looking for. Good for you! Only.. it seems you've also found one of the native creatures to the area and you now face to face with it. Um. Good luck! We'll see you when you get back!

Hopefully.

05. Celebration

It won't take long for you to figure out that people of Gazin are, all in all, pretty happy people. It shows, too, when a seemingly quiet evening suddenly bursts into a random, impromptu party to celebrate whatever good fortune has touched a person. Name Days, good harvests, betrothals, weddings, or just life in general.

Sing, dance, drink and be happy, too!

06. Wild Card!

Want something else? Feel free to choose your own adventure or mix and match to create something completely different!

NAVIGATION

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Having arrived with nothing but the clothing on her back and a moldy piece of bread, one of the first things Wen Qing saves up for is a weapon. Easier said than done when she sees so many people carrying swords and other weapons which should be familiar but are ultimately of foreign design, leaving her doubtful how well her skills will translate. Which doesn't even start on a cultivator's sword being far more than a piece of metal hammered into pointy shape.

But a weapon is a weapon, and it will be better than none. With some luck, she might even be able to make the blacksmith understand what she wants from fighting needles, her actual weapons of choice, though she rather despairs at the odds of getting those. She has yet to see anyone fight with acupuncture needles and with these, something which is just about the right shape won't be good enough to get the job done.

Thus her mood is rather skeptic, her mind preoccupied as she steps into the blacksmith's place. She is wearing a plain red dress in the local style, work clothes for a workday.

"Excuse me, may I have a moment of your time?" she asks, approaching the man working the forge.

Edited 2020-01-13 17:16 (UTC)

He'd had his back to the entrance, checking on the heat of the forge for the tool he'd been working on when the voice came from behind him and his shoulders stiffened. It was going to be at least a more minutes before the next step so Jiang Cheng turned slowly, wiping his hands off and met her gaze.

Because it was just his luck it'd be her, his hands curling into fists at his side for a moment before he exhales a slow breath.

"Wen guniang." Causing a scene here and now wouldn't do any good and it wasn't like he had a lot of options or people he was familiar with from home, and this one particularly was a source of conflicted feelings.

"You," she breathes, eyes widening in alarm. She takes a small step back before she catches herself and remembers that she has too much pride to flee but...

In this moment, as she stands there looking nothing short of stricken, she desperately wants to run.

The last time she had met Jiang Cheng while he knew who she was, he had made quite clear what he thought of her and how he condemned her for the blood running through her veins. She has no reason to believe this encounter will be any less hostile, considering that back then he actually had reason to be polite, being sheltered under her roof at risk to her own life.

"Excuse me," she says, voice frosty and just a little shaky. "I... I believe I will seek another shop." She moves to leave, then halts. She wants to leave. Except... he may be able to craft what she needs.

That..wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting, taking a step forward before he even realizes it. "I.." And what exactly was he going to say when she looked at him like he was going to strike her as soon as speak to her. Which given recent events, made sense, but it left him feeling defensive.

"..That's your decision. If you're leaving, I do have work to do." Because he's not going to force it, but he's also not going to attack an unarmed woman.

She tenses up further when he takes a step towards her but what follows is no aggression, just... She's not sure what to make of it, really. Maybe regaining his golden core has taken the edge off his fury and grief.

Still, she hesitates, for it would be far easier to walk away - as she should have walked away in Gusu, the very first time they talked. If she had walked away then from him and his siblings, she would have saved her brother and herself so much anguish.

But the needles...

She folds her hands in front of her. "I need acupuncture needles, both for healing and fighting. Can you make these?"

Needles. Of course she'd need them given her own abilities and he had first hand experience in how skilled she was with him. He exhales a breath.

"...I can't guarantee they'll be as well-made as the ones you're used but I can probably make a mold and give you something approaching them." Keeping it businesslike at least meant he didn't have to talk about anything else with her.

"It might take a few days. How many do you need?"

She gets out her pouch, looking at the coins inside, fighting with herself. Needles or a sword...

You are no proper cultivator without a proper weapon but nobody in these lands knows or cares what is proper elsewhere, do they?

She throws the small bag at him, filled with her meager savings, and rattles off the specifications she will need for her needles, the different materials and sizes. And then, finally, "as many as that will get me... and you can take your time." Her lips are pressed together into a thin, bitter line. "I'm not going anywhere."

He eyes the bag of money before he sets it back down within her reach. Keep your money. We'll work something out for payment later." Because he's not taking everything someone else has, at least not from her. Because this isn't their home and as much as he hates her sect, she hasn't done him any personal harm.

But he does make notes on the needles so he can work on the molds and then tucks it into a pocket.

"...Are you here alone?"

She looks at the bag, eyeing it, then him again, torn between sheer necessity and self-respect.

In the end, she chooses to ignore it and the offer that came with it for the moment, turning away from it slightly to focus on his other question.

"Yes," she says curtly, "I'm here alone." She swallows audibly. Her posture straightens, becoming all the more perfect and ladylike, as he might remember her from Gusu, where she had needed so hard to hold on to her composure. "My brother is still imprisoned." A moment of silence. "We paid a high price for saving you. Higher than you can ever repay."

"....Is Wen Chao still alive?" Because if he's imprisoned, they're from different points in time given the last thing he'd heard about Wen Ning was that he was with Wei Wuxian along with the other remnants of the Wen Clan.

Not that he's going to bring that up, yet, but he can at least find out what she does know.

There's a spiteful part of her that wants to blurt out I hope not and at any other point of time, she might have trusted him enough to let down her walls enough to do so. But these long weeks in the dungeon, cradling her bleeding brother to her, still linger fresh in her mind, and today, trust is a currency too dear.

"As far as I know, he is." She takes to pacing, small and measured steps, still the perfect lady. "QishanWen doesn't give free access of information to the dungeons."

Yet she wants to believe that if Wen Chao is dead, someone would take mercy on Ah Ning and her, that it is only fear of them which makes everyone keep them imprisoned.

He's quiet for a moment before turning to pull the tool out of the fire, his gaze drifting back to her before he speaks again.

"The Wen sect had already fallen by the time I arrived here. You...We found you in that dungeon and set you free before we even stepped foot into Nevernight." Not that he was going to detail everything but it might be enough for her to know she does get her freedom.

For a while.

The Wen sect had fallen...

He says it so casually as if it's a footnote to him but Wen Qing stands still, her belly full of icy dread. They have lost the war. The war they started and fought with nothing short of unnecessary cruelty. She takes a deep breath. Retribution will be terrible.

"Then it is even more urgent that I go back. I must protect Ah Ning and what remains of my family in the days to come."

"The last I saw of you, that was your intent as well. I assume you did find them after we parted ways." Jiang Cheng turned back to his work.

"...Things were returning to normal before I arrived here."

"That is good to hear," she says cautiously, hoping this means the thirst for vengeance faded quickly.

She looks down at her hands before looking towards him again. It's hard to believe now that seeing him and their little chats used to be the highlight of her days in Gusu. After all that bloodshed...

"I owe you thanks. For releasing me." Which feels strange, thanking someone for something they haven't done yet. But she would have never liked him if she doubted his honor, he wouldn't lie.

Edited 2020-01-13 23:51 (UTC)

"You don't owe me anything, Wen guniang. You helped us when we were running and paid the price for it." He pauses, gaze drifting back to her face."

If you need anything here that I can help with, you can ask." He offers, shifting his weight slightly.

"...I had offered you the same thing the last time we spoke although you never collected on it."

Oh. There it is. She feels herself softening a little, in spite of herself. He has always been so painfully earnest with her.

"Thank you," she says just as earnestly. Not that she's planning to collect. She doesn't want the scales of obligation to tip and find herself in debt to someone who has every reason to hate her. "A familiar face could become a comfort."

If he doesn't turn the town against her. But bringing that up right after his promise is impossible.

Granted, if he'd had a choice in companion in the city, she might not have been his first option, but she wasn't someone he'd seek to hurt on sight either. Given the fact that she was also the only familiar face he'd encountered since arrival, it made things far simpler. What had happened before wasn't the path he would have chosen but in a place like this, something familiar was a welcome sight.

"That was my thought as well." He responded after a moment, moving toward her.

"When I'm done for the day, would you consider joining me for a meal? We could discuss how to proceed if you would be willing to spend a little more time with me."

Edited 2020-01-14 06:51 (UTC)

This time when he approaches, she doesn't back away, just regards him with some curiosity, for as far as she can see their business is concluded.

At his offer, surprise shows openly in her face, brows arching. He must truly be from after the war, to be so changed.

"I wouldn't be averse to it," she says. Beyond doubt, it would be smarter to quit while she is ahead. Is there even anything to talk about that isn't a touchy topic of some sort or another? Her lips curl a little bit, head ducking. "I promise I'll be less... competitive than the last time we met in an inn."

"Given the situation we're in, and what you've done for my family in the past, it makes sense to find a common ground until we have a better idea of how to find a way to return home. You have your family to look for and I..." He had Wei Wuxian to deal with and that more than anything is something he's not looking forward to.

"We'll see if you can keep that promise." There's the faintest hint of a smile before he gestures to the bag.

"Take it back. You'll need that for your own supplies."

She eyes the money pouch again. "I don't like owing people," she admits bluntly. "You give me your craft and your time, you deserve to earn your pay for it." She sighs, reluctantly picking up the bag. Fact is, she does need the money. "We will discuss this tonight. I insist you at least let me compensate you for the materials you need."

Still weighing the money bag in her hand, she sizes him up again. He is trying, this is him really trying. Maybe it's time she does the same.

"We could meet in the town's tavern. But the stew is disgusting and I'm still not sure it isn't some clever sort of slow-acting poison." Another moment of hesitation, a wide-eyed look. "Or I could cook."

"You'll pay me back if I ever need your services as a healer." Because he knows her skill level and everything else aside, she knows how to handle the kind of damage he'd be likely to take in a fight. And at least he knows she's versed in her own arts, which is more than he can say for the locals.

The suggestion of her cooking has him looking at her again, his expression flickering into a smile. "I can't argue that the food here leaves much to be desired, but if you'd rather cook, that could be payment for the needles." And food from home or something approaching that would be welcome.

"I could try to catch some fish."

She can't help herself, smiling a little in response to his smile. She averts her eyes, focusing on smoothing out the coarse dress she wears.

"Then it is decided," she says, voice growing firm again now that the decision is made. "Come to the apothecary tonight, I work there and have a room above the shop." Whether she actually invites him into her room is something she will still have to debate once it has sunk in she is doing this. It could send quite the wrong message, for sure. "And if you would bring fish, I would very much appreciate it." She thinks for a moment, rephrasing somewhat gentler, "I would like that, Jiang-zongzhu."

The smile has his own widening in a way he hasn't smiled in a while, not with everything that's been happening. "I'll bring fish then and meet you there around nightfall, then Wen-guniang."

Which gives him time to fish, clean up and make a proper appearance for the meal.

"I look forward to it."

"So do I." There's a little bit more eagerness to her little nod than she would ever admit to.

It's nice to see her patients happy and recovered, right? That's all there needs to be to it.

Half turned away already, she lets her eyes rest on him for another moment before she walks away, feeling a lot lighter.

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Test Drive Meme #1

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