brethrencourt | TEST DRIVE 001b

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TEST DRIVE 001b

Try on those ridiculous clothes, sample the catering, and run through your lines. It's time for the Long 18th Test Drive.

ARRIVAL: Characters come to in a dark, tropical forest in a huddle. There are the sounds of strange birds, animals, and insects all around, some of them perhaps worryingly close. With a closer inspection, arrivals realize they're on an incline: Going up will prove fruitless, no matter who they are. The ground there starts to grow rocky the further they climb, and they may find themselves slipping back down to their arrival point, even if they're expert mountain climbers. The ground sloping downward will eventually level out leading toward light, music, and noise. But for the moment, they're simply a group of lost people (or monsters/bipedal animals/robots/etc) with no idea where they are or how they got here. Now's probably a good time to ask, "Who the hell are you? Where am I?" Time to use the buddy system.

TORTUGA: There's a town off the coast of Hispaniola that never sleeps, and that town is Tortuga. It's swapped hands more times than anyone can count, but for now, the French have it. And they do like the extra money the pirates that frequent it bring in; they like it so much that they imported over 1600 prostitutes from Europe to keep them happy. So you might as well relax while you're here, as much as you can with random gunshots and fist fights, anyway. Drop in for a drink at the Faithful Bride, check out the wares for sale (provided to you tax-free thanks to piracy) near the dock front. Visit the warehouse where those ill-gotten goods are stored and distributed. Maybe you're looking for work on a ship? The captains can usually be found - frazzled and busy - in the taverns and at the shipwrights and everywhere in between (just look for the hats), and if they're in a good mood, they might be willing. But the key point of Tortuga is this: Have fun. Some examples might include: A barfight! Wandering into a brothel (maybe by mistake)! Getting duped into joining a crew! There's no end of trouble to get into.

MIRROR POST: When they arrived, every person found, in a pocket or a bag or tucked away somewhere on their person, a little compact mirror. It's nothing fancy: Square, with hinges and a latch that keep it closed, the outer casing carved from seashell, the inner mirror a little spotted with age. But if it's played around with enough, it quickly becomes apparent it works as a communication device. Here you have access to all of the marked folks, no matter how far and wide they might spread. Need to have a heart to heart with a buddy in Singapore? Want to send out a general ad to everyone at large? Looking for answers to questions? This is the quickest way to get all of that.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: The world is open, and it's full of pearls that are just waiting for you to take them. Maybe you want to have some quiet time to scrub clean in a bathhouse in Singapore. Perhaps you're visiting the fabled pirate city of Libertalia in Madagascar. Maybe you've found yourself lost in Mayan ruins or stranded on an island. Or you were shipwrecked in a hurricane. Or you've decided to relocate to Port Royal or one of the American colonies for a quieter sort of life. Either way, this is your story, might as well make it a good one.

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[Don't worry, Kubo, that's how 98% of the people around Tony at any given time feel. You are not alone. It's a sort of rite of passage at this point, to be personally confused by Tony Stark.]

That's. Very illuminating, thank you. [That is not illuminating at all.] So do we have a year estimate, or...I'm looking for hard dat-

You know what, the whys don't matter.

I . . . don't know what year it is. Maybe around . . . 1610? [He says this like he's never thought about it before, and now he's asking himself why he never asked. He's been literally living in a cave, he doesn't even know who the Emperor is.]

The whys always matter. That's how you find out the "how." [Adults. You gotta teach them everything.]

[Normally, Kubo would steer clear of a man who's clearly drunk off his ass. But he's been moving from piss-stinking alley to alley with his performance tricks, and not a single person has stopped. Without his side-show paper tricks, he doesn't know how he'll earn his way. Sure, he could turn to straight-out piracy, jump on the bandwagon, but he is. Not good at the whole "be threatening" thing.

He's tired, and if he's being honest with himself, he won't survive in this bustling place if he doesn't speed up the process. Shorten the learning curve.

So, sighing, Kubo adjusts the instrument slung on his back and approaches the most knowing person he's spotted since arriving. The alcohol-to-knowledge ratio does seem pretty equal around here.]

Um, excuse me. . . . Sir? [He sounds unsure about that word.] Would you happen to know a good spot for performances?

[#tonystank

To his credit, Rafe pulls his head out of his own ass long enough to make some genuine effort to remember. He gives Tony one long, considering look, but it ultimately ends in him shaking his head and placing a hand over the hilt of his sword.]

So... what? This isn't lecture hall, professor. Unless we're going hunting for some portal... machine that shoved us through time and space, you're going to need to be nice to me. [He gestures to himself with his free one, then out to the soap-less pirates occupying the docks.]

Rafe Adler. I might look like a million bucks, have a billion bucks, but you aren't going to find anyone better at navigating through the wild beyond this shithole. I was on top of Henry Avery's treasure when the world decided to rewind, so I get the universe's sense of humor for me. So why are you here?

[If Rafe were honest with himself, he would admit he'd been hoping for some hostile response so the anger running through him was justified. He grips the sword hilt tight, still fully prepared to use the thing... and heaves a defeated sigh, lowering the blade.

That shield looked too solid to get around, even if she'd picked a fight like he hoped.]

Rafe Adler. I'd ask why you don't know that, but it looks like you never got the memo Fourth of July is over.

[Rafe might not be the most capable among this rabble, but he's got a sword of gold hilt and gems shiny enough to garner a few drunkenly offered deals. It was easy to distinguish from those who had good business sense, and... well, so far that was none of them. None of them could truthfully claim they owned a ship, a map, coins they'd wasted on the rum. Nothing of anything of value.

He was on the brink of using it against one that puked on his shoes when the Pearl caught his eye. Not only was she an impressive ship, there was a man wandering off it. Despite Jack's swaying, he still walked like he knew exactly where he was going. That's enough to earn the newcomer tailing him, all but conspicuous in the way he shoves his way through the surrounding fights elbows first.]

Bandana, straggly beard! You're just the man I'm looking for!

[ And the thing is--

The thing is, as Jack makes his way towards town, he wears his hat square on his head. His red bandana is still obviously poking through, especially from behind where the length of it is nearly as long as the dreadlocks in his hair.

Not to mention that "scraggly beard" is a actually a phrase that Jack has used to refer to Barbossa's beard, and well,

Add it all up and Jack simply doesn't believe that this man is talking to him. He keeps walking, as though he'd never heard him at all.

You'll have to try harder than that. ]

[ Jack was expecting to remain uninterrupted as he makes his way through town, trying to remember which of the sellers he'd been to last time, which were the ones that had tried to rip him off and which ones were willing to barter. He certainly wasn’t expecting a small boy to walk up to him and try to converse with him.

Jack remembers being young, arriving at Tortuga for the first time with a need to prove himself and no idea how to do it. He hadn't been too much older than however-young this boy looks now. However, the fact of the matter is that Jack has no need for a cabin boy (for that's what he assumes the boy is here to ask, the only position readily available for kids this young). He has enough to deal with by Hector, who will certainly try to steal his ship before the trip is up. He has no need to try and take on new crewmen on top of that.

If only this boy had been here, last he was in Tortuga.

He's midway through waving a hand in dismissal when he hears the rest of the question. Where is a good places for performances?

Jack's hand makes an aborted motion as he blinks and truly looks at this boy for the first time. ]

A good spot for performances? [ He echoes in disbelief, eyebrows high. ] Lad, this be Tortuga.

[ He says it with a wave to the town about them, and like he truly expects it to be answer enough. And in a way, to him, it is. Tortuga is a place where sailors pay for food, for rum, for a place to stay, and for women. They would not give their hard earned money away to a street performer, not when there are muscians to listen to for free inside the taverns. ]

[ On the opposite side of the spectrum, the sound of gunshots has been so normalized, familiar and even expected that Jack hadn't even blinked when the shot fired off. As such, he gives her a blank look full of genuine confusions as he asks, ]

What was what, luv?

['Friendly' face may be a loose term. Regardless, Lizzie stares back at him, still wide eyed... At least they're both confused, even if it's for completely different reasons.]

The sound- what was that sound?

i. ARRIVAL

[Well, this wasn't Central City, that was for sure.

Lisa pries herself off the forest floor with a groan that sounds an awful lot like what the fuck? She's pretty damn sure that she hadn't been riding through a forest when she'd wrecked her motorcycle, but that's not even the most worrying thing. She doesn't recognize anyone around her, everyone in various stages of waking up and discovering their situation. She does a quick check, finds her gold gun in its holster on her thigh, a whole lot of debris in her hair, and all of her jewelry and knives in place.

Hands on her hips, she surveys for the path least likely to snap her ankle in her boots.]

I've seen this movie. I'm getting out of here before Predator shows up.

ii. TORTUGA

[Her first thought is that a place like this would be Mick's heaven on earth.

Her second thought is this is some kind of Renaissance faire on crack.

Her leather riding gear garners attention, but not the kind she's accustomed to. No one seems to be able to figure her out, and she'll take that over the catcalls. Eventually they get bolder, but she's not unused to putting unruly, handsy, abusive drunks in their place. And she knows better than to stand around asking for a fight after that and finds herself a hideaway. The ladies of the night are not the most accommodating, but after she gilds a thing or two for them, she finds herself some clothes, left behind by some of their Johns. And a corset, to boot.

It takes her less than a week to slide right back into her niche.

Tonight finds Lisa Snart holding court in a bawdy tavern, sitting on the bar like she owns the place, charming one and all out of their gold and whatever else she can swipe and conceal in her leather bag, or beside the knife in her boot. Make her laugh and she'll buy you a drink. Catch her fancy and she'll show you a good time, won't even charge you, sailor. Not until you wake with nothing but your skivvies left to your name.]

iii. Got a better idea?

{ooc: choose your own adventure! Just hit me with what you have in mind or PM me to plot a little, I'm here for Shenanigans~}

[prefer prose? I'll match your style ♥]

Arrival

[It's quite different, going from a comfortable cushiony seat on the Hogwarts Express to leaning up against a damp tree growing out of damp ground. It's a bit of a shock, in fact, and it takes Harry a few disoriented moments to scramble to his feet, Sirius' newly-delivered letter clutched in one hand, the other hovering over the wand in his back pocket. What had just happened? He hadn't been Apparated, had he? Isn't it meant to feel weird when that happens? He hadn't felt anything, he'd just been curled up and rereading the letter telling him Sirius was safe (and the bit that would let him go to Hogsmeade during fourth year) and now he's, well. Here. Wherever that is.

He isn't the only one, either. Harry is a bit reluctant to take his hand off his wand, but everyone around him looks just as bewildered as he feels.]

Er, what's just happened?

[It's a forest, he thinks at first, but it's hot here, and dark, and full of wild noises. More of a jungle, then? As far as he knows, there aren't any jungles in England. Even wizards would have trouble with that.]

We're meant to go downhill when we're lost, I think.

Tortuga

[He's in trouble, obviously. He'd been on the train back to the Dursleys, then in the forest, now he's here, no closer to getting home or having any idea what's happened, he's in trouble. But Harry has had more than a little practice in sneaking about, and once he's dirtied up his clothes and face a bit, it's not as obvious he's not from round here. And once he's begun blending in just a bit more, it gets a lot harder to remember that he's in trouble, versus realizing he's in a city with real pirates and that real pirates are ~~probably~~ better than another summer with the Dursleys.

With his unerring instinct for finding the worst places to be, he's found himself in the corner of a tavern hosting a sort of half-bar fight, it's very unenthusiastic and apart from dodging a bottle once or twice, Harry's mostly able to sit back and watch. He's grinning like a tourist, which likely makes him stand out again, and the glasses certainly aren't going to help him escape notice, but he can't bring himself to care.

It's after the fight has escalated and he's gone down an alley (unpleasantly squishy, he's trying not to let his imagination run away with him) that he finds actual trouble. Only one actual trouble though, and a bit drunk already, and although it's cheating, Harry's whispered Stupefy is still a good idea as the would-be mugger slumps over and almost immediately starts snoring.

Trouble is, he isn't the only one who saw that, but when he spots the observer, they look out of place too.]

Er. Hi. ...could you maybe not say anything about that?

Mirror Mirror

[It's oddly akin to the moment he'd discovered the Philosopher's Stone in his pocket when he knew he hadn't put it there. This time it's a mirror, only big enough to see his face in the spotted glass, and while Harry hasn't had the best of luck with mirrors, talking to one isn't the strangest thing he's even done that week.

Wisely, he waits to talk into it until he's found somewhere quieter and less populated, on the beach at the edge of the trees, perched on a fallen log.]

What d'you reckon, are we meant to be doing something here or something?

[ And here Jack looks around them, bodily turning about the two of them in an attempt to figure out what could possibly have this woman so spooked. ]

...What sound?

[ Because he sure didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. ]

[ It's around this time that Jack Sparrow makes his way into the Faithful Bride, where Captain Hook and Captain Barbossa are currently conversing. Needless to say, he'd been caught up and held back with his own run-ins as he made his way through town, what with the influx of new people with strange clothing and asking ridiculous questions.

(Where had they all been last time he were here? He could have used all these people who didn't know where they were and would believe any promises Jack made about attempting to return them home.)

Whatever the case, he's here now, ready to play catch up with Hector, to compare To Do Lists of things to fix with the Pearl and how much of their own money they'll need to pitch in to ensure she's back to her pristine figure. He doesn't bother hesitating before he makes his way over, not paying Hook any mind at all. It almost seems like he doesn't even know Hook's there as he brushes past and takes a seat at Hector's table. ]

The place across from Bonita's, [ he says without preamble. ] They be the ones most willing to haggle. Especially if it's you and your.... [ And then he sort of gestures at Hector's. Everything.

And then, without missing a beat and without a change in tone, he jerks his thumb over to Hook. ] Who's he, then?

Arrival

[At least she's wearing normal clothes and not her costume. She blends in a little more in this confused group of people than she would if she had a cape. At first she stays quiet, listening to the discussions and disagreements and arguments around her, and then she tunes them out and listens to the jungle. There's a weird silence uphill, like there isn't really anything there, which doesn't make sense, even deserted mountaintops have something making a sound.

Luckily she doesn't need to dwell on that too much, when she listens in the other direction she can clearly hear the ocean, and people. A lot of people. Rowdy, violent people, but still people.]

...I don't think we're supposed to go up. I can hea—I mean, I'd guess there are probably people down that way.

Tortuga

[She hadn't really meant to pick up the man—the pirate? Was he really a pirate? He looked like one, and he really smelled like one. When Kara had grabbed his wrist, she'd just wanted to get him to stop petting her hair, but he'd slipped in the, oh wow she hopes that's mud, and she'd just automatically hefted him up to stop him from falling.

And then she had him dangling in midair like he weighed nothing at all, which…well, he didn't, not to her, but no one else knew that. She'd apologized when she set him down, at least, but she can hear the people around her whispering about her, that gentry-looking girl with hair like polished-up gold and her demon-given strength. So she does the only thing she can think of: she pretends, cradling her arm tight to her chest and wincing in pain, as if she'd injured herself terribly during that display, and even limps a little bit toward the nearest tavern. Overselling it a little, maybe? Maybe.

It's a stage-whisper to the nearest person who looks sort of out of place, like her:] Is anyone staring? Did anyone see that? No one saw that, right?

Mirror
[Outside the city and finally away from prying eyes, she'd tried just. Flying home. That sure hadn't worked. Kara had been maybe a dozen or so miles out over the ocean and then just…the only word is teleported right back to where she'd started, the exact spot in the forest above the city. Right back into her footprints. There's no point in trying that again, not if this place is going to be like that about it. She's stuck.

And when she shoves her hands into her dress pockets with an angry huff, she finds a mirror there. At first it's just a mirror, not one she's ever seen before, but she can see that weird mark better with the help of the mirror, and then after touching the glass a few times, she can hear murmurs, like conversation.]

Hello? Is there someone on the other side of this? Is this a 'Through the Looking Glass' thing?

[The man's reaction has him scrambling for purchase. If he can't tell his stories, he doesn't know how else to make money. How is he going to survive in this town?]

Yes, but. Tortuga doesn't have what I can do. [He brightens with a child's hopping excitement.] Here, wait--watch this!

[Kubo pulls the shamisen from his back and grips his pick. He is definitely desperate to prove himself, and he wastes no time with his usual dramatics. A series of notes pluck toward the sky, and from his back, three sheets of blue paper rise with them. They fold themselves into blue jays, which chase each other above Kubo's head.

His music becomes more frantic, and the first jay eats the second, then the third, before spitting out their confetti remains over Jack's head. Oh, the gore, the horror!]

[Lizzie wasn't exactly sure why she was at the tavern. She had honestly just picked one at a random to have dinner and a glass of mead at- all of them appeared equally horrible from the outside.

She sat in the far corner of the tavern with a pinched expression on her face, nibbling on her Yorkshire pudding as she watched the woman on the bar top. In some ways, Elizabeth envied her: she was able to do as she pleased without any worry for consequence. Meanwhile, Lizzie was struggling to keep her table for one just that- scowling at men as they approached.]

I. Arrival

[ Truly, there's nothing more startling than being in the backseat of a car headed towards boarding school and then , in-between blinks, suddenly finding yourself relocated to a forest without prior warning or notice. This is the situation Violet has currently found herself in, and she visibly starts when she realizes what’s happened. She turns in a full circle around her in order to take in her surroundings. It doesn't take her long to realize that something is amiss.

She is alone. ]

Klaus? [ She looks around her once more, trying to determine which way Klaus would have gone if he were here. She's standing on an incline that looks steeper and steeper the higher it goes. She doesn't bother trying to go up. Instead she heads down, and into the forest. ] Sunny!

[ She's clearly and visibly distressed. Will you be kind enough to help her find her siblings? Or pragmatic enough to inform her that she arrived by herself? ]

II. Tortuga

[ It's pretty obvious, in a town full of filthy pirates, that Violet sticks out. She's wearing a school uniform, crisp and clean, the whites in her collar especially obvious. But coming into town was the only option, aside from staying in the forest or wading into the sea.

She makes her way cautiously around town, trying to orient herself to this new place and trying to find someplace she can stay overnight despite not have any money. That's when she happens upon the docks not long after one of the cargo hoists breaks, sailors and workers all hunched over and bickering with each other in different ways to fix it. Curious, Violet moves forward, taking a ribbon out of her pocket and using it to tie back her hair. She stares at the cargo hoist for a few seconds before making her way over to the crew of men. ]

Excuse me, [ her voice is quiet, but steady and sure of herself. ] but if you take some of the wire over there, [ she points with an index finger to some chicken wire, ] you can use that and some of the chains to--

[ She's cut off when some of the nearby sailors laugh at her. "No need to worry about it, lass." One says. "This ain't girls work," another says. ] Okay, but-- [ "Run along," a different one says with a dismissive hand wave. ] But I know how to fix it!

[Lisa wasn't usually one to give a shit about her fellow woman, truth be told. A girl could find herself in a lot of trouble trying to come to the rescue of another. But this wasn't your average situation. Women didn't have options here, not without knowing how to wear a mask or three. And the beer goggles in this place were intense. Of course none of the jackasses were getting the hint the scowling snow queen in the corner wanted to be left alone. She might as well have headphones and a book.

Her pool of "suitors" had dwindled a bit and frankly she's a little bored. So Lisa slides off the bar and waves off those remaining, those too drunk to keep track of her as she sways her way across the bar to Lizzie's corner, catching the next contestant by the collar and hissing a toothy fuck off in his face and turning him 'round back the way he came.

She takes a seat to Lizzie's side without asking.]

Problem, princess?

What did you do to him?

[ Violet doesn't sound accusing. If anything, she sounds curious, moving closer to Harry and to the had-been mugger, trying to puzzle out what she just saw. ]

You didn't even touch him.

[ Another gun shot goes off nearby and the young queen tenses and furrows her eyebrows at him. ]

That- the one that sounds like a canon...

[ But it couldn't be a canon, it was too inland and too close by without it being apparent. ]

[The Tudor Queen was ready to leave- to slam her coins on the table and retreat to the room she was renting just outside of the bustle of this town. To say she's startled when the other woman shoves the man away and takes the seat he had intended to- well, that's an understatement. Bewildered, she offers a tight smile before taking another sip of her mead.

Princess.

She nearly chokes on her drink- just barely managing to keep her composure as she regards the other woman. If she knew who she was, she'd have been addressed as Your Majesty, or Your Highness... Perhaps it was simply a way to address others in this time or whenever she was from.]

Thank you- I'm beginning to think this town isn't for the likes of me.

[It was hard to admit, but not something that would shock anyone that's come across her so far.]

[Well, that was a lot more gracious than she'd expected, considering the looks the woman had been sending her way. She hadn't bothered to read into it, she wasn't really welcome with the women who lived here. Which meant princess posh here was an outsider, too. She looked like she was taking the Ren Faire aesthetic seriously, too. But it was a little off, the more she observed.

She smirks in reply to the thanks, raising an eyebrow.]

Just beginning? You're new here too, huh?

Well, no, I didn't.

[And that's the solution, isn't it, he hadn't even touched the man. Harry tries 'smiling reassuringly' on for size.]

Think he'd just. Had enough. Lucky timing for me, I guess.

[Nailed it?]

[She might have shown up in her work clothes instead of her costume, but Kara is still the person who hears worried shouting and immediately goes in that direction. The jungle isn't easy to wade through, which is why she's absolutely cheating, floating just enough to get up and over the worst of the creeping vines on the ground, but she stops cheating once she catches sight of the girl. That's hardly fair, after all. Kara tends to assume she's the only one around who can fly.]

Hi, um, hello?

[Kara is an unexpected sight herself in the middle of the jungle, about as unmuddied as Violet, hair still pulled back in a tight ponytail, tapping her glasses back into place as she draws even with her.] Hello. Um, who are you looking for?

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TEST DRIVE 001b

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ii

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Lisa Snart || DCTV || ota

Harry Potter | OTA

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/kicks down the door HONEY I'M HOME --

Kara Danvers Zor-El | DCTV | OTA

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Violet Baudelaire | Series of Unfortunate Events

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Arrival