don't stop me now

[herotypical]

the luceti test drive meme

Reserves have just opened and apps are right around the corner. But are you still on the fence about any of your would-be characters? Well -- here is your chance to take them out for a spin!

▣ TAG IN or reply to others with characters you would like to test drive for Luceti.
▣ ONLY add top-level comments for characters who are not yet in the game. You're free to reply to others with Luceti characters (because that's half the fun) but remember that the whole point of this meme is for potential characters.
▣ PLEASE do not post duplicates of characters already in Luceti.
▣ GO AHEAD and give us a brief description of your character in the top-level comment, along with one or two possible ways to run into your test-driven character around town.
▣ YOU MAY use these threads for your first person samples on your app -- just make sure that you link threads of a goodly length (i.e., threads with at least ten comments from your character).

Need a little help getting started? Remember, you needn't post here as though your character is still brand-spankin' new. It'll probably be more fun for all involved if this isn't a simple dress rehearsal for showing up. Here are a few scenario ideas:

o1. The grocery store is out of food. What do you do?
o2. Wing injury! Call for help or stagger your way to one of our fine clinics.
o3. It's a busy evening at Good Spirits, one of Luceti's local bars. Do you dare try the drink specials?
o4. Have a talent for playing music? Try Cloud Nine's open mic night!
o5. Beach party? Snow party? Leaf-raking party? Gardening party? YOU DECIDE.

Okay. So my examples are pretty non-exciting. But they're really just suggestions. I'm POSITIVE you kids can come up with more creative things.

Above all? HAVE FUN. Oh. And don't forget to RESERVE your characters.

Comments

Skysong "Kitten" | The Immortals (Tamora Pierce)

[skysung]

Option 1:

[Kitten cranes her long neck around to get a look at the second pair of wings. The feathers are still fairly bewildering. She may have hollow bones and be warm-blooded, but Kitten has always been outwardly more lizardlike than birdlike. Their size doesn't bode particularly well for functionality, either.

She's much too young to fly, but there's never been an infant dragon with two pairs of wings before; two pairs might cancel out the small size of either individual pair. Kitten would be remiss if she didn't at least test them. It can't hurt to try! Well, it could, but not if she's careful. Give her some credit for common sense. She won't be climbing any trees or buildings and then jumping. Perhaps a bench, table, or the like if liftoff from the ground proves too difficult. A bench is a reasonable height.

Passers-by may stumble across a two foot tall dragon in the village doing her best to fly using not one but two pairs of wings that aren't up to supporting her.]

Option 2:

[Because she is almost as hungry as she is curious, Kitten stops in her exploration of the village when she finds a restaurant. She whistles the door unlatched and shoulders her way into Seventh Heaven. Lack of verbal communication is the most minor of obstacles. Kitten will order food just fine somehow, although she isn't certain how she'll pay for it.]

((Prose is also fine! Note that Kitten doesn't speak human, though she understands it just fine. Come play dragon charades.))

Option 1!

[i_am_not_cute]

[OMGGGG DRAAAAGGGOOOOONNNNNN

Pao-Lin is distracted from her walk to the Battle Dome by suddenly a baby dragon. She stops in the middle of the path and just stares for a bit, watching Kitten trying her best to fly.]

[skysung]

[Occupied in her fruitless attempts at flight, Kitten only notices her observer after a particularly embarrassing fall. It's becoming clear that no, a second set of wings will not provide much aid in flight. Kitten seems to be just about as earthbound as she was at home.

And now, there is a witness to her undignified scrambles. She wonders how long the stranger has been watching. With some resignation, Kitten admits to herself that if she didn't want witnesses, she ought to have chosen a more secluded venue for this endeavor.

So she stands back up, takes a few steps toward Pao-Lin, and chirps hello.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin beams down at her, and bends down a little to talk.]

Hi there!

[Though she doesn't actually expect Kitten to understand her.]

[skysung]

[Kitten understands, and if she doesn't make it abundantly clear now, she will soon enough.

She nods hello and gives a friendly chirp in return.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Aww, you're so cute! Don't mind Pao-Lin reaching out to tentatively pet Kitten on the head.]

[skysung]

[Kitten doesn't mind attention or appreciation in general, and she by far prefers friendliness and affection as an initial reaction. Avarice, fear, and hostility have been problems on occasion. Luceti seems to have a much lower incidence of those responses, to Kitten's pleasure.

So even though Pao-Lin is still a stranger, the dragon allows the contact. Not only allows it, she stretches upward, leaning into Pao-Lin's hand.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[When it seems clear that Kitten isn't going to snap at Pao-Lin, the girl relaxes. She wants a baby dragon of her own!]

I haven't seen you around here before...you must be new.

[skysung]

[Kitten nods affirmatively with a chirp of agreement. She is still getting used to Luceti but is unsurprised that dragons are less than common here. It was the same at home, after all.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin scratches Kitten under the chin.]

Do you have an owner?

[she'll adopt you if you don't]

[skysung]

[At that, Kitten jerks away from Pao-Lin, croaking in anger and disapproval.

The dragon does answer the question, a vehement shake of her head. No. She is not anyone's pet. Kitten doesn't have an owner. Not here, not at home, not ever.

If she stops to think, of course she is aware that Pao-Lin means no harm by the question or to her. That doesn't prevent Kitten's instinctive aversion to the idea of an owner. She was captured once: drugged, caged, and put in a menagerie, kept asleep so that the emperor could call her his. Her period of captivity was mercifully brief, but dragons don't take well to locks or cages, and they aren't property.

The humans who took her in following her mother's death are her family. They have always been her adoptive mother and father, not her owners.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[O-oh...Pao-Lin holds her hands up in apology.]

S-sorry, I didn't mean...

[Though she's not exactly sure why Kitten is so upset. She's mostly just apologizing for upsetting the dragon, period.]

[skysung]

[Kitten tilts her head, taking in the obvious sincerity of Pao-Lin's apology and wishing she could explain exactly why she was so upset. The dragon's biggest frustration has always been the communication barrier between her and nearly everyone she sees regularly. Once people know her well, they can generally predict her thoughts on a given matter, and she's very good at making a point without words. Even so, in Luceti she feels the lack of her family; they have always served as a bit of a buffer, so close to her that they don't need any understanding of her words to translate. Here, everyone is new, without the easy rapport that comes from long acquaintance.

She nods, gives a quiet whistle, and takes half a step back toward Pao-Lin.

Apology accepted.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin lets out a relieved sigh, glad that she hadn't provoked Kitten into an all-out attack.]

I guess you must've had a bad experience or something, huh?

[skysung]

[It's more than that. Kitten hates the idea of being thought of as a pet rather than an intelligent being in her own right. Dragons are neither monsters nor trained and tamed beasts. They are educated mages who learn from books and scrolls just like any mortal mage would, their minds disciplined and organized. Kitten might not be very far along, given how young she is, but she will be someday.

Even so, Pao-Lin comes close enough that Kitten nods slowly in agreement. It's certainly true that Emperor Ozorne qualifies as a bad experience.]

[i_am_not_cute]

Well, don't worry! Almost everyone here is nice, so they won't be mean to you. [Hmm...] Are you hungry? I could try to find you something to eat.

[Food is always the fastest way to anyone's good graces, right?]

[skysung]

[Not being mean is different than not treating her like a pet or a monster, but Kitten supposes at least Pao-Lin is speaking to her with the assumption she can understand. It's hard enough getting some two-leggers to grasp that, regardless of the evidence before their eyes. If everyone in Luceti extends her the same courtesy, Kitten will be content.

Food is certainly a way into Kitten's good graces, at least. The dragon nods enthusiastically at the offer, whistling her thanks. Not only is she hungry, she is willing to try pretty much anything. Her curious nature extends to food, and she expects the menu here to vary somewhat from what she typically eats at home.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[Pao-Lin's pleased that Kitten seems willing to accompany her along on her favorite activity ever. But then something occurs to her.]

Oh, um...do you eat people food?

[She wouldn't want to get Kitten sick or anything. Or upset her again with the wrong kind of food or whatever.]

[skysung]

[What else would she eat? Certainly not hay or grass like a grazing animal. Kitten bears absolutely no resemblance to those animals, much closer to a bird or lizard in appearance. Mama Daine may a vegetarian, but Kitten is firmly omnivorous.

The bewildered pause is broken by another very decisive nod. Yes, she eats the same food as humans, and she has never been a picky eater.]

[i_am_not_cute]

[She beams.]

Okay, I'll take you to Seventh Heaven, then! The food's great there.

[Never mind that she'd been on her way to do her daily training. If it involves food, she's almost always up for it.]

[skysung]

[Kitten loves food. She assumes that Seventh Heaven is an inn or tavern of some sort. The dragon whistles happily, nodding again, and stands on all fours to follow Pao-Lin.

Obviously she approves of the plan. Kitten is ready to go.]

Option 1

[savedtheworld]

[Aang eventually spots the dragon. So little... it's adorable! He beams at her while he watches her trying to fly.]

Be careful, don't tire yourself out!

[skysung]

[Kitten quietly hisses a retort, the sound reminiscent of a disgruntled mutter. She won't get tired so quickly! And she is being careful.

But then she turns to face Aang, and the enthusiasm easily readable on his face changes her mood quickly enough. Kitten has always appreciated open admiration. A series of clicks and chirps that mimic human laughter precedes her nod of greeting.]