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

Garrus Vakarian | Mass Effect

[calibrating]

[Garrus strolls along the residential district, retaking all of the sights, smells, and sounds he'd taken care to put behind him nearly a year ago]

[Dirty.]

[Fetid.]

[Scum ridden.]

[And this is one of the nicer parts of the scuzzhole formally known as Omega. These particular surroundings are somewhat familiar to Garrus-- he's pretty sure he'd worked some sort of job around here...]

[...Kron?]

[No, wait.]

[Thralog.]

[His mandibles twitch in a wry smile-- that was a good one. He'd preferred not to subject innocents to any more violence than they already witnessed on a daily basis on the station, but his targets had a tendency of giving him no choice. Sometimes on purpose.]

[The combination of awful memories and unwelcome befuddlement makes his nose wrinkle, and he grips a spare pistol out of habit.]

[It's one thing being back]

[It's another being back and without knowing why or how]

[Or where the rest of the crew is, for that matter]

[neverknocks]

[ York's still trying to get her bearings, figuring this place out, but a few things are self-evident. Like that this place is kind of a cesspool. Not that it took all that long for her to figure that out, but hey, it's still a change from Sacrosanct.

She could really do with a god damn map, though, and she's managed to walk herself in circles a few times. The locals aren't particularly friendly -- not all that surprising -- and York, in her bulky Freelancer armor, definitely looks at least a little out of place.

She's not familiar with any of the aliens around here, but she's seeing enough of them to get used to the idea. And maybe approaching any of them directly is a bad idea, but hey, somebody's gotta talk eventually. She approaches Garrus, though not too close, giving him a nod. ]

So you look like you know your way around this place.

[calibrating]

[A good year and a half on Omega taught Garrus a thing or two about the way the local thugs liked to work. Send someone who looked innocent enough in, lower the target's guard, then jump them when they least expect it.]

[His hand doesn't budge, the palm resting on his hip, just beside the hilt of his pistol.]

[Garrus does, however, regard York with a nod-- just in case she's genuine. He didn't spend all that time helping out Omega's citizens just to breed more distrust, after all. Or at least more than what was necessary.]

Spent some time here, yeah. You lost?

[neverknocks]

[ Okay, she'll admit, she wasn't necessarily expecting the guy to answer, or even to understand her at all. But she's definitely relieved when he does. That's helpful. That's a step forward.

She notices his hand still close to his piece. He's guarded, careful. She can respect that. This place seems pretty dodgy, and she's being careful too. Of course, she might not seem like it, with her casual, easygoing manner, with the way she offers a rueful grin to a kind of alien she's never seen before in her life. She's trying, okay.

Still, guarded as he is, the guy seems all right, so far. At least he's giving her the time of day. York steps a little closer, jerking her head in a nod, and she lets out a short laugh. ]

Yeah, you could say that. I'm kinda new to the neighborhood. In a...big way.

[calibrating]

[Garrus' head cocks a bit to the side at that-- nobody ever moves to Omega unless they had a damn good reason (or, conversely, no choice in the matter)]

Usually when you move to a new place, you scope out the property, first. You know, check for vermin, water leaks, convicted felons.

The usual.

[neverknocks]

[ York laughs a little at that, because hey, the guy's got a sense of humor. Now that's a relief. ]

Y'know, I must've spaced and left my apartment hunting checklist at home? This wasn't exactly a planned move. If I'm perfectly honest, I'm still not sure how I wound up here.

[ York's not sure how much of the truth of her situation she really ought to divulge, but she knows she's not the only one. There've gotta be others. Besides, it's probably pretty obvious to the guy that she's never dealt with these particular aliens before. ]

[calibrating]

[Now that piques his interest]

[Immediately, he looks her up and down, trying to see if there's any quick, telltale signs of drugging. She doesn't seem disoriented outside of not knowing the area, and she's not under any obvious distress]

[Definitely curious at the very least]

Humor me for a second-- What's the last thing you remember?

Re: Garrus Vakarian | Mass Effect

[akinship]

[Garrus had attracted the attention of what is probably a new arrival, since whatever his species is sure isn't part of the known universe. He's short relative to an adult human, and roughly human shaped, but humans generally have things like eyes, noses and external ears, and lack things like tentacles that clearly are moving independent of whatever air currents are in this part of Omega. Currently a number of those tentacles are directed towards Garrus himself, clearly tracking him. ]

Hello. Are you one of the locals here?

[calibrating]

[WELL NOW]

[That's not normal]

[In fact that's completely transcended not normal and plopped directly into "LOOKS BAD, PULL OUT GUN" territory]

[Which is exactly what Garrus does, completely ignoring the otherwise friendly query]

What the hell are you?

[akinship]

[Why do people keep trying to point guns at me? ]

[Akin takes a posture that, for humans, would convey non-threatening body language, though he doesn't know if the alien will read it the same way.]

I'm Oankali. We're... not from around here. I'm not really sure how I got here at all.

[Well, technically an Oankali-human construct, but Oankali covered it. Akin could also describe himself as human, but he knew most humans without Oankali genes wouldn't agree, and he'd assume that the alien wouldn't either.]

[calibrating]

Is that a name or a race?

[He notes the human-like gesture, and it's really the only thing that's stopping him from firing his gun-- not that he's about to drop it, either.]

[In any case, the 'I'm not sure how I got here' is a song and dance he's heard once or twice before already. It's kind of straddling the line between annoying and concerning now.]

[akinship]

A species. My name is Akin.

[It might be a bit more convincing when coming from someone who isn't exactly a known species. And weird, considering an unknown species shouldn't be able to mimic humanity (or speak English without help of a mechanical translator).]

[calibrating]

[Alas, in a galaxy where omni-tools translate everything, it doesn't amount to much.]

[Garrus' eyes narrow, and he lowers his gun, only slightly. Having a name helps.]

'Oankali' isn't exactly something that rings a bell. Does the Council know about you?

[chose]

Garrus!

[she'd yelled louder than she meant, but Shepard's been all over the damn station; it's hard not to be relieved to see a familiar face. she beelines, pushing through the crowd and grabbing his arm]

I thought maybe I was the only one who got stranded here. What the hell happened?

[calibrating]

[The sound of such a welcome and familiar voice is more than enough to snap Garrus out of his laser focused scrutiny of his surroundings, and, at the arm grab, he turns around with his mandibles flared in a sm--]

[WOAH HEY NOW]

[His long neck shoots back with surprise]

Do I know you?

[chose]

[STOP.

HAMMER TIME.

or, er. DOUBLE TAKE. have a pretty alarmed lady staring a little wide-eyed and nonplussed, Garrus. it's only going to get weirder.]

--I'd certainly hope so, considering we've been fighting together for the past couple of years. Unless I mistook you for a different turian who went through Ilos and a Collector base with me.

[calibrating]

[There's no mistaking that voice-- if there's anything about Shepard that Garrus is attuned to, it's that.]

[But everything else is wrong. The tanned skin is right, but the hair is just a shade darker than what he knows, the bobbed cut missing entirely, and those eyes... those eyes are far lighter than what he remembers. What he knows.]

[Despite being in possession of what should be classified knowledge, his human, whoever she is, is not Commander Jane Shepard]

[And he definitely does not appreciate liars, nor anyone who'd dare try to pose as someone so important to him and the galaxy at such a critical time]

Whoever you are, you have three seconds to get your hand off me before I break it off.

[chose]

[what's that saying? oh yeah: good feeling's gone.

she backs off, hands in the air, but she's pissed.]

Dammit, Garrus, it's me. What the hell. Look, I don't know why nobody seems to remember my face, but here-

[she's fiddling with her omni-tool, perhaps a little more forcefully than necessary. the only electronic close enough that matters is a door, so Shepard shoves her arm at it, staring defiantly at Garrus as the security reads off her credentials: Commander Raquel Shepard, Earth Systems Alliance Navy, Council Spectre, aaaaaaand etcetra.

when it's finished rattling off all that official and dry nonsense, she seems mollified, even a bit apologetic.]

I know things are crazy right now. Nobody else seems to recognize me, either. [the look on her face as she runs a hand through her hair says enough about how she feels about that.] But it's really me.

[calibrating]

[Garrus' mandibles clamp tightly against the sides of his face, hiding the rows of razor sharp teeth, yet managing to make him seem far more ferocious than his nature allowed. Her name is wrong. Her appearance is wrong. But there's so much about her-- the way she carries herself, that temper, her voice (credentials meant nothing to him, he'd seen them faked so many times before)--]

[--he can't deny that she's Shepard. He just can't. Over their years together, intimate and otherwise, he'd grown to know her so well that he couldn't deny that possibility. Not with the evidence mounting around him and the panic that rolled off these other arrivals in droves. All he can do, and it's really to make himself feel better in a fit of petty childishness, is respond to her in a cold voice]

You are not my commander.

[hellodeadpeople]

[ Jack's ass has taken residence on the top side of a slightly rusted storage crate for the moment, just watching the various citizens mulling about, looking for anything familiar (well, anything more familiar than typical Omega).

She's uncomfortable here. Familiar with showing up in weird places after Abax, but when she got ported home, what she was told, at least, is that she wouldn't have memories of the city anymore. And she sure as hell wouldn't be on the other side of the galaxy. Fidgeting and wanting something to do with her hands, she's repeatedly click the thermal clips of her pistol out and back in as it rests in her lap, ready to snap up and cap the first Vorcha that comes sniffing at her. But before she drives herself mad (madder) with the sound, a familiar Turian stalks past, looking the general kind of wary as hell. A small smirk tugs at her lips, and she calls out. ]

Waiting for some bad guys to pop out twirling their mustaches, Vakarian?

[calibrating]

[For a split second, Garrus' instincts urge him to meet that voice with an expertly pointed gun. However, once the familiarity registers, he wheels around with a grin on his face. Or, at least, as close to a grin as a turian can get]

Why're you asking? Did you grow one?

I'm not even sorry for this icon.

[hellodeadpeople]

[ Excuse her while she totally brings a finger up and holds it under her nose like a pretend mustache. It's really a pity she doesn't have one of those inside of finger mustache tattoos. ]

Might be a good addition. What d'ya think?

NOR SHOULD YOU BE

[calibrating]

[Garrus gives her a few moments of mock scrutiny]

Eh, I guess it passes.

[His mandibles flare into a full smile, though. Honestly? He's just happy to see a familiar face.]

8'3

[hellodeadpeople]

[ There's a snort of a laugh and a smirk shot back. Maybe it's not the Garrus she knew in Abax (judging on how at least the Shepards got switched out), but she'd gotten to be a little more comfy with him regardless. Enough that she can joke about mustaches.

Hopping off the crate, the thermal clip is pushed back in and holstered as she makes her way over. ]

I'll look into facial hair implants. You remember being on the route to Omega at all before this?

:'D

[calibrating]

No.

Last thing I remember is Thessia burning.

[Annnnd that's put a bit of a damper on the conversation there]