TEST DRIVE MEME

[ceoqueen]

ΩUTSIDERS
TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to the outsiders test drive meme! You can use this post to tag with characters you're interested in bringing to the game or who you'd like to try out in the setting.


Please set all threads in one of three areas: the landing zone, where your character get off the shuttle upon arrival; the markets, where your character might run into any of the station's alien population; or in the residential district they'll be staying in.

φ Please give the name and canon of your character in the subject line! OCs and AUs are welcome.
φ You may use threads from this post as a log sample, so long as it has at least 5 of your comments in action tags or prose.
φ You can keep CR from this meme if both players agree to it OOCly, and so long as you keep interactions to these starting areas.
φ Apps open on 1/27; the game opens 2/2.
φ You can find more information on our setting here, and our navigation is here!

Comments

...welp. (Malcolm Hawke | Dragon Age 2)

[daddyhawke]

[Malcolm has only been here a few hours and already he's found himself lost and bewildered, though whether by the strange predicament he's found himself in or by the strange...people...is hard to determine. There were different races in Thedas, to be sure, but those were familiar and part of his world; here he feels completely out of his element, in this place with technology far advanced than he had ever seen and with beings that made even the denizens of the Fade look mundane.]

[He scratches his lightly bearded chin, trying and failing to keep his blatant staring to a minimum. There are various vendors about the marketplace, hawking their wares, and Malcolm does his best to avoid catching their eyes so as to keep from being pressured into buying something with money he doesn't have. What a long, strange day it has been for him.]

[unyieldingly]

[Malcolm isn't the only one out and about in the markets. His eldest child is there too, grown up, trying to haggle with someone into explaining just what in the Maker's name is the gel she's supposed to be using for 'medical purposes'. The alien in question, a rather lovely lady of the blue persuasion, is actually being rather helpful, and the tension in Marian's shoulders slowly bleeds out.]

Not quite a potion, but it'll do. [It gets a raised eyebrow from the woman and she smiles.] Ah, never mind. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[With a smile and a wave, the woman departs, and Marian turns and tucks the little thing into the pack at her side. It's then that she catches sight of her father walking, her eyes widening in alarm.

No. No. It's just a trick. She's clearly had some bad elfroot after that dealing with the Arishok. There's no possible way...]

...Father?

[freedomsprice]

[Hearing a voice he would recognize anywhere, Malcolm turns his head to meet his daughter's gaze. He's surprised to see her here, though perhaps not as surprised as she is in return. Despite his misgivings, he offers her a bright smile as he rushes towards her, wrapping her up in a hug.]

[She'll probably complain about it, being hugged in public like this, but it's a scolding that he's willing to endure.]

Marian, what in Andraste's name are you doing here? Your mother is going to kill us both.

[unyieldingly]

[Her mouth opens and closes again, not unlike a fish, and when he crushes her to him her knees threaten to buckle. Oh Maker, he's real. He's as real as she is. And this might be some horrible dream or nightmare but she doesn't care. For the first time since she discovered she had magic, she throws caution to the wind and wraps her arms around him in a tight embrace.]

Mother's--

[Mother's dead and so are you.]

I think how Mother feels about this is the least of our concerns right now.

[She pulls away to look up at him.]

I can't believe... How are you even here?

[freedomsprice]

A question I should be asking you! [He pulls away from her, enough to look at her face, and suddenly he notices that something is off. She looks older than last time he saw her, which was a mere few hours ago in Lothering. There she was twenty-one years of age, and now there's a certain air about her, like she's had the world on her shoulders for a long time.]

Marian, I -- [She's still looking at him in shock, which makes him even more concerned.]

Why are you looking at me like that?

[unyieldingly]

[Can she bear to tell him? Will it matter? It's been far too long since she's seen him, since she's seen his smile and has had his arms around her. For just that moment, she felt like all of her problems disappeared. It's just her and her father.

She swallows thickly.]

I haven't seen you in years, Father. You're... You're gone.

[spellmight]

[ there are plenty of displaced thedosians about the omega market today. solona has around 100 sovereigns, but so far no one will seem to accept them. gold pieces. solid gold. she has taken a break from trying to get information out of the wrong places. ]

[ the right places are probably more out-of-the-way, she reasons. if this had been the denerim market, she would have known how better to handle it. nothing to do then but to gain her bearings a.s.a.p. in order to change that around! she wanders around for some time, noticing more and more familiarly dressed humans among the colorful assortment of aliens. at least she's not alone. ]

[ her eye catches on a confused-looking older man, and immediately she is truck with some thing. empathy? sympathy? or both. solona adjusts the weight of her weapons by rolling her shoulders and crosses the distance until she is standing close enough to talk. she tilts her head to one side, as if to peek at his face. ]

It's a lot to take in, isn't it? I feel like a dull patch of seaweed amidst a sea of colorful fish.

[ she gives him a smile. ] I'm sure this is merely a hurdle.

We shall become accustomed to all this ruckus and cleanliness in no time.

[freedomsprice]

[He offers the pretty young woman a smile in return, pleased to have camaraderie even in this strange place. Malcolm moves closer to her, though keeps a respectable distance, scratching the tip of his nose as he walks.]

If you're dull seaweed, then I'm a rusty old anchor that was thrown off the ship.

[There's something about the girl that seems familiar, enough to bring him the smallest mote of ease. The smile remains on his face, finally reaching his eyes as he examines her face in kind.] I'm Malcolm Hawke. A pleasure to meet you, miss...?

[spellmight]

[ she laughs, also quite pleased to see her attempt at camaraderie succeed. ]

There is nothing old about you, Ser. Otherwise, I see nothing at all wrong with being an anchor.

Amell. [ she nods politely to him with a smile. ] Solona Amell. But most people usually shorten that to The Warden.

It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Malcolm Hawke.

[freedomsprice]

[There are two things in Solona's introduction that make his face darken slightly, despite her compliments: the surname Amell, and the title of Warden. Being from a different point in time (even if neither of them know this) means that The Warden doesn't inspire within him the awe that another Fereldan might experience, but considering how his last interaction with a Grey Warden went, he's immediately on guard. And not only that, but she shares the same family name as his wife -- a family she turned her back on in order to be with him.]

[He regains a calm, neutral expression as he looks the girl over once more. That would explain the familiarity, at least, if she's a relative of Leandra's.]

Amell? From the Kirkwall family? [His voice is light and pleasant, but now he's more than a little curious. She isn't reacting badly to his name, so maybe she's never been told the name of the apostate who stole away a Kirkwall noble. That was well before her time, after all.]

[spellmight]

[ her current occupation was never exactly her idea. if the title does not inspire awe and hero-worship for a change, she won't mind. solona can't help but notice the change in him, and wonders which of the things she'd said would set him off. her name or her job? ]

[ she stays calm, and shakes her head slowly. ]

I never knew my family, Ser Hawke. I grew up in Kinloch Hold.

[ she has never been told any thing about the amells. not even the nobles of the fereldan landsmeet had seemed to recognize it. possibly because it had already all-but died out in kirkwall years past. ]

hello stranger

[wantedapostate]

[ Anders loves markets. He loves the people, the bustle, the panoply of colors and scents -- even the murkier hues, even the less pleasant smells. All of it is freedom. He fancies somewhere he can detect the scent of a cherry pie wafting on the breeze, improbably rising above a jumble of other market odors to catch his nose with its siren ... nose-song.

He loves eye-candy as much as the next man if not more. His notion of attractive is heavily influenced by what he's known in the Tower. A well-favored man in late middle age, with a neatly trimmed beard? Right up Anders' alley. What's more, this one is carrying a staff --]

That's quite an impressive staff you've got. You look like you know how to use it.

[ He's subtle, is our Anders. ]

crying already at this thread

[freedomsprice]

[There was one thing that Malcolm did not expect would happen today, and that was an obvious come-on directed towards him. He's much too old for that, too happily married and settled down with children at this point. What's sad is that he doesn't even recognize it at first, but realization sets in and he's thrown off balance for a few seconds. He looks over his shoulder at the staff strapped to his back, then back at the handsome young man standing before him. A half-grin quirks the corner of his mouth as he takes a moment to gather his wits, then he replies.]

Years of practice and natural talent.

[The flirtation isn't taken any further, as his conscience and a healthy fear of his wife's temper (even so far away from home, he can imagine her emerging from the crowd with a rolling pin in hand) keep him from engaging in the playful banter as much as he would have in his youth. But he's amused, which is an improvement to his mood. Being dumped on an allegedly foreign planet is enough to dampen anyone's spirit.]

[wantedapostate]

[ Anders rewards his friendly reply with an insouciant grin. ] There's no replacement for natural talent, of course. But they do say practice makes perfect.

I've always thought practice is much more fun with a friend.

[freedomsprice]

[Malcolm bursts out laughing at this point, which is probably not the response that the young man was looking for. It's a pleasant surprise to see that he still generates interest -- he'd had his share of dalliances in his youth, and while not vain, he knew that several had found him attractive back then. Then, and not now, where he has too many grey hairs and more weight than he'd care to acknowledge.]

I'm sure that my wife would agree. [He's still grinning, thinking of using this to provoke Leandra the next time they have a lover's spat. It's not a question of "if" at all; he has complete confidence that despite being lost in such a strange place, he'll return home to his family. There's simply no other option.]

And what is your name, ser? I'm Malcolm. [A hand is offered for a friendly shake.]

[wantedapostate]

[ Not offended in the slightest, Anders clasps his hand in a grip whose firmness may be surprising. Or may not, given that the pauldrons he wears don't conceal the musculature of Anders' arms. His upper body has been well-developed by the aforementioned staff-wielding, to say nothing of other athletic pursuits. Such as swimming across Lake Calenhad to escape the Circle. Climbing up and down walls -- again, to escape. Anything for an escape. Escape can be an extreme sport. ]

Call me Anders. Everybody does.

I'd say your wife is a lucky lady, if not for the staff you carry. [ Mages are forbidden to marry, of course. The man must be an apostate, then. ] Or does she have one to match? A beefcake Maferath to match your busty Andraste?

[ It takes a certain kind of man to carry a staff with a huge naked religious icon riding it. ]