Test Drive for January 2014 Apps

[highseasmods]

Welcome to your monthly Test Drive for high_seas! Here is where new players can test out their characters' voices, old players can try out new muses, and everyone can help each other get some threads for their applications! Feel free to use one of the prompts below, or come up with something on your own! Comment around, have fun, and remember that any CR formed here does not carry over to the game!

See you during the application round!

♦ So you're new to this world and have just woken up in the Town Square. How do you react? What do you do?

♦ You're lost at sea. Maybe you got separated from your crew. Or perhaps you're on an abandoned island. You need help!

♦ "Pirates off the starboard bow!" It's an enemy ship! Attack!!

♦ You and your crew are hanging out on your ship. Just another day at sea!

♦ "LAND, HO!" Hey look, a new island! How about you go explore it? Tell us what you find!

Comments

badonka

[slugly]

[The question is on the tip of her tongue 'Isn't everyone local?' Except her, of course. But comparing him to the rest of the patrons at the bar, he fits in as well as she does. Which is the literal opposite of fitting in. At least his hair isn't pink.

She realizes belatedly that he's not a local either from the sound of it. Is he from the war though? Is he really

Nope, nope. Definitely not. Or rather, can't be.]

Er--

[She glances to the journal sitting by her water and picks it up, staring at the skull at the center with unease.]

I tried. Things kept... appearing on it while I was trying to.

donkadonk and LMAO that icon

[thethundersaid]

[He's noticed there seem to be times when people get more and less chatty on the journals, and apparently now is one of the chatty times. Pulling out his own, he flips to the first page and slides it toward her, tapping the first note from the person who calls herself Dog.]

People talk too much on it. This is the information you need to start.

ITS MAH FAV

[slugly]

[HE SOUNDS SO FAMILIAR IT'S REALLY BOTHERING HER

He has a journal, too. As if she wasn't already sure he was a local, now she is. That must be how they're differentiated. Since nobody else in the bar (that she can see) has the same journal that they have.

Why did they even have a journal in the first place?

Carefully, she takes his journal from him and begins reading and is generally GLAD things don't start writing by themselves anymore. That was disconcerting.

When she's done and has made sense of the strange vocabulary, she's speaking aloud to herself.]

Isla Empieza. Why haven't I ever heard of it? I don't remember seeing that name on a map at any point in time. [Finally she turns back to him.]

And this Davy Jones has been mentioned on the inscription, too.

IT REALLY SHOWS OFF HER BEST LOOK

[thethundersaid]

You haven't heard of it because this isn't your world.

[He watches for how that piece of information lands, though he continues nonetheless, tone still evenly deadpan.]

Davy Jones claims to be the one who brought us all here. He might or might not be real. It's difficult to get confirmation.

YES I THOUGHT SO TOO

[slugly]

[Whoa, whoa, back up -- what, just...

Isn't her world? There's no way. She looks baffled.]

What do you mean this isn't my world?

[Said... so slowly and a hint of irritation.]

SIGHS DREAMILY

[thethundersaid]

[There probably wasn't any other way to take that information. He takes a sip of his water before turning to look her in the eye.]

Think about it. Have you ever seen people dressed like this in your world? Have you ever heard of a land that resembles this one? [He picks up his journal again, flipping it open to a page that is busily filling itself with words.] Or anything like this?

CHIPMUNKURA

[slugly]

[OH she thought about it

And he's right, which seems to piss her off more. She smothers it by trying to find reason. Although there was no reason to find with that journal and how it... WROTE in itself like people were communicating.]

Cultural differences are normal. People in Suna don't dress like people in Iwa or Konoha. And just because I don't recognize this place doesn't mean it's a different world. That's not possible.

[She still doesn't understand the meaning of that. The legs of her chair scrape loudly as she pushes away from the table, ready to leave.]

I just need to find a map.

the most charmingkura

[thethundersaid]

[His expression grows increasingly impatient as she tries to explain away the inconsistencies with logic -- unfair, perhaps, given the way he'd entered this world. Still, his mouth tightens when she pushes back from the table.]

There isn't a map. Even the people here don't know the extent of their world.

[He stands as well, setting down his half-finished water.]

There are no shinobi here. If you use any jutsu, they're more likely to call it witchcraft and send the navy after you. This isn't a world that knows who we are.

chu~~

[slugly]

[That's ridiculous. How could people not know their own world?

Shinobi were common. Civilians knew about them, this doesn't make her stop. Nor the mention of jutsu, though she does pause. But 'we?'

Stops. Immediately.]

...We?

u/////u

[thethundersaid]

[... he is truly not accustomed to disguising his identity. He pauses for a moment, then gives up with a half-suppressed sigh. If this leads to a fight, it leads to a fight; at least they've already gotten supplies this time if he's to be banned from the island again.]

You know me. [He lets the Sharingan flicker into his eyes for a moment before blinking them black again.] You were right the first time.

:3c

[slugly]

[What's with the sigh? A brow raises while she waits for him to explain why he uses 'we'. If he's a ninja, it's not a big deal, is it? They're all on the same side right now.

The Sharingan is all the clue she needs.

She chokes out a gasp. "You know me." Hah.]

Sasuke...kun?

[Where is her chair? She might need to sit down again. Can't deny when the facts were now lit up in figurative neon and pointing arrows that her instincts were right.]

[thethundersaid]

[Maybe it wasn't as obvious as it had seemed when she'd said his name at first -- the shock on Sakura's face is evident. Had she come from some time when seeing him was this uncommon?]

I'm using a henge. [Just in case it wasn't obvious; he keeps his voice low and gives the rest of the room a meaningful look.]

I won't release it in here. [He tilts his head toward the door and starts walking, assuming she'll follow if she wants answers.]

[slugly]

[It was incredibly obvious, Sakura was just in denial that the two of them would get stuck on some random island she hadn't even heard of until now.

Any sudden appearance of this teammate had her in shock for reasons.

It doesn't last long and she's a little annoyed he didn't think she would already realize it was a henge. Sasuke wasn't the type to dye his hair brown, of that she's sure.

But she does follow, so they're outside instead of in a packed bar. There's so much on her mind right now but all she gets out is;]

Why are you using a henge?

[thethundersaid]

[He releases the henge as soon as they're out of sight of the tavern, chakra rustling briefly around him before settling again. He'd gotten little of use by way of information out of that visit -- not that he'd expected much from civilians -- but running into Sakura is a mixed bag of possible outcomes.]

I'd rather not be recognized. [He's not sure he would be by most, but there's no point inviting a scene to ensure he will be in future.]

When did you get here?

[slugly]

[She can't believe she convinced herself this wasn't Sasuke. And was still surprised when he admitted he was. She can't believe... him. And he's here, on this island. Should she be happy or annoyed?]

About the same time as you, I guess.

[Since they were at the same war.

Suddenly what he's said about being recognized doesn't make sense. Or anything else he's said before now and she looks uncertain about her answer.]

... Right?

[thethundersaid]

[He's trying to figure out if that answer implies she's seen him recently -- which can only mean they were fighting the same war recently -- or not when her tone goes uncertain as well. Perhaps the strangest thing of all has been the irrelevance of time, here, but she's certainly dressed like someone fresh from a warzone, flak jacket and all.

Still.]

I've been here for two months. [He frowns.] But I think we're from the same war.

[slugly]

[SHOCKED

FACE

Two months? That makes no sense. She just saw Sasuke fighting with Naruto before she arrived here. Or, it felt like it. The confusion is visible now.

Sasuke didn't have any reason to lie to her.]

If you have been here for two months, what does that mean about what's going on at home?

[thethundersaid]

I couldn't tell you. [It's infuriating to have to make that admission, but there is no alternative: he has no information about what is happening in their world, or whether time is passing at all given how Itachi arrived.]

I assume by your reaction that I haven't been missing for two months.

[slugly]

[Sasuke always was smart. He may not be as smart as her but-- a corner of her mouth lifts by a fraction, not really noticable, because it reminds her of a few moments as Team 7.]

You're right.

[Does that make him feel better from not knowing? She's back to looking in deep thought. This isn't her world, he said.]

What do we do now?

[thethundersaid]

[He can't tell if he's pleased or not to have it confirmed that all sense of time is pointless in this place. The question makes him turn away, gaze dragging over the town with obvious displeasure.]

The popular theory is that finding this ruby is our ticket home. It might have the power to let us cross worlds.

[The frustrated emphasis on might, makes it more than clear his feelings on the subject.]

[slugly]

[Sakura, meanwhile, keeps her eyes on Sasuke while filling in the blanks.]

But nobody knows for certain.

[He's not alone in the displeasure of being here in the first place.]

There's no harm in trying. [And it's better than just standing around and waiting for something to happen.]

[thethundersaid]

Nobody knows anything for certain. Not even the people who belong to this world. [His tone is about as filled with badly-suppressed irritation as it possibly can be. It's practically spilling over.]

All we have is shreds of information. It's just like -- [Oops, almost slipped up.]

[slugly]

[If they didn't know the geography of their own home, she's not surprised.

LATCHES ONTO THAT SUDDEN CUT OFF]

... Just like what?

wow i'm not good at html

[thethundersaid]

[It's not relevant, he wants to say, but it is; he just didn't expect it to turn up with Sakura. But he's been holding in the frustration for a long time, hiding it from Itachi, watching his words, and holding his tongue is not something he's been used to for a long time.]

Just like home, in that way. Villages where everyone thinks they know everything, but no one knows anything. [His gaze sweeps over the civilians milling around, distaste clear in his expression.]

Or they hide what they know.

i will give u lessons yes

[slugly]

[Understanding lights her face before her brow furrows. It's true, when she was a genin she didn't know nearly as much as she does now, when she turned to Tsunade's disciple. Suddenly a large avenue of information was open to her and the nebulous ways that Konoha got to where they were now were a bit more clear.

It wasn't pretty. Did Sasuke know too? Or was this about something else? The truth about Itachi she still hasn't been told?]

Maybe it's for protection.

[Protecting the civilians from being interrogated. Protecting foreigners like Sakura and Sasuke from their own tarnished history. Or protecting whoever has that ruby they needed to find to find out if the myth was true or false.]