+ ENTRANCEWAY TEST DRIVE MEME +

[vitaelamorte]

Has this ever happened to you? You are an adventurous and daring roleplayer bursting with motivation and ideas, and Wonderland seems just the place for you to let your creativity flourish, AND YET... you doubt.

Unsure if your grasp on that one character's voice is as firm as you'd like it to be? Wondering how exactly your regular character's quirks will work out, once you've turned them into a Mirror? Curious and curiouser about how your magnificent muse might fit into the world of Wonderland? Or do you simply want to warm up and stretch your legs, before submitting that application and coming to meet entranceway's characters and players?

THEN WE HAVE JUST THE THING FOR YOU!

If this delicious apple in its constant, looming spin



is the spitting image of the doubts and concerns holding you back from IMMEDIATELY applying one or more characters to this game, then you have come to the right place! Boldly reach for your juicy and vitamin-filled hesitation and crush it between your teeth, with our latest, greatest and most fashionable

♥ ENTRANCEWAY ♥
TEST DRIVE MEME

► Try out any new characters and new Mirrors here! Have a go at the setting, thread with its current players, and see if Wonderland is a good fit for you and/or your character. Post a top level comment, tag into other people's starters, enjoy yourself!

► Thread your character's arrival, set a scene with them as long-established inhabitant, or let one of our past events inspire you. Any starter is fine, and both prose and comment spam are welcome!

► Please only note that threads on the test drive meme ARE NOT GAME CANON. They can't be used as part of the activity check OR as samples for any future applications. Thank you for understanding!

► Intrigued? Check out our...

NAVIGATION | INPUT & INQUIRIES | TAKEN CHARACTERS | WANTED CHARACTERS | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

AND THAT IS ALL, so go test those drives, drive those tests, and seize the apple! ♥

Comments

[livemoore]

[ He was in an airport? There's no way he could have been and not detected or taken somewhere else. You can't just hang out in airports anymore, this isn't a Tom Hanks movie.

So now, Liv's heart breaks a little. He's probably not from her world. He's from somewhere zombies have really taken over and it's Not Good. He's been this way for a long time. Something about zombie life keeps him from being him and she's afraid a person in Wonderland will try to kill him because of it. Not on her watch; he's either living with her or in a room close by so she can keep an eye on him. Maybe she can teach him how to person again. ]

Where I'm from, it's different. Zombies are still pretty human-ish. We have to eat brains at least once a month or we wouldn't be human-ish anymore at all. We'd turn into something that only hurts people.

[ Her voice is soft as she speaks, and she can't help reaching out, covering his hand with hers. ]

But we're not alone in this place. That has to count for something. Right?

[keephersafe]

['We'd turn into something that only hurts people.'

R looks away. How many people has he hurt? So many, he wouldn't be able to count them even if he remembered how numbers worked. How many people has he hurt, killed, torn apart--

Her hand touches his, covers it, and his fingers twitch beneath her palm. He looks at her hand then up at her like he doesn't quite understand, but what she says sinks in and pricks at something that gently shushes the quiet but gnawing hunger that hasn't yet managed to take him over.]

Right.

[Right.

R closes his eyes. What comes out next clearly takes some effort.]

I don't.. w--.. want to... hurt an..anyone.

[livemoore]

[ She understands, and she nods, squeezing his hand before letting go. ]

Do you need to eat?

[ Liv still has beauty pageant brain in her fridge, but also the closets have been pretty accommodating, so she's happy to just show him how it works once she takes care of him. ]

I have to eat at least once a month.

[ Oh, maybe she should ask this: ]

When you eat, do you get flashes of the person's life before they died? Memories, from their point of view?

[keephersafe]

[He misses the contact immediately, but doesn't reach for it. Instead, he puts his hands together in his lap and almost seems to fidget. 'Eating' is.. a tricky subject, particularly as right now he doesn't really feel the need and only really eats when he's hungry.

He can't get any more dead than he already is.

The question surprises him, once it works his way into his mind and settles there. R looks at her again, the answer in his eyes before he even says it.]

Yes.

[Sometimes. Sometimes it isn't as strong as other times, and only with the brains... M thinks it's sick, but it's the closest to being alive that R ever manages to get.]

[livemoore]

Me too!

[ She possibly gets too excited about that, but it's a similarity in their zombie worlds that she can connect with. ]

For us, when we eat a brain we also kind of...become that person. The reason I was balancing a book on my head is because whoever I ate was a beauty queen and always practiced perfect posture. Usually, at home, I know what I'm getting but here...the closet is giving me random brains.

[ But at least it's giving them, so she won't complain. Loudly. ]

[keephersafe]

[He's listening. He watches her face while she talks - her lips, mostly. She talks like the living do, and it's fascinating, like she bridges the gap between him and them and shows him what might be possible. He had never wanted to give up his fragile grip on what was left of something that might have been called life. M thought that was weird, too.

The effects brains have on her are ones he.. isn't sure he'd like. He takes his time with the brains he gets intact, savours them, saves the best bits until last, but they never stick around quite like that.

R smiles. 'Random brains'? How could he not smile? It is a little funny. The noise he makes catches in his throat, but it might have been a chuckle.]

That's.. awkward.

[So are you, R, but look at you, making conversation!]

[hackrid]

[ YEAH SCREW BLAINE ]

I kinda lean more Star Trek replicator than magic when it comes to the closets and food, but I can respect a love for a little wonder.

[ she throws up that vulcan gang sign and her smirk widens a little. ]

So, no magic at all in your world? Not even any weird science?

[noreason]

[Naoki paused as he was getting another forkful of cake.]

The world ended. And I was born.

[eatsyourscience]

No. I can't tell if there's a pattern.

[This is why having a whole team--or a Naoto--is important when solving mysteries.]

R | Warm Bodies | OTA

[keephersafe]

a] outside; gardens

[There's a cat.

R had seen it from the door, and it hadn't moved as he'd approached - shuffling, awkward, and the kind of noisy that usually frightened the more skittish animals away. Beside it, he'd lowered himself to the grass and stretched out on his stomach, close enough to the flowers to see the insects moving amongst them, and the cat still hadn't fled.

If anything, it seems curious about him. He likes that. The cats in the city, when he's seen them, have been mangy, starved things always searching for their next meal. They're no good for the Dead to eat, so they get left alone.

This cat is orange, and large and fluffy, and it's pretending not to notice him. It gets close enough for him to lift a hand and reach out - his fingers close loosely on the back of its neck and stroke down the length of its body.

The purring is immediate. R smiles, and the tip of his finger gently touches to the patch of skin and short hair just above the cat's nose. He speaks.]

Boop.

[Untroubled, he ends up lying on his back with a cat curled up on his chest, the very model of 'can't move, there's a cat asleep on me'. With one hand behind his head and the slightly greyish pallor of his skin, you might be forgiven for mistaking him for really dead.

But then he blinks.]

b] inside; library

[All in all, it's much nicer here than it was in the airport, or in the decaying remains of the city. The ache from his abandonment by Julie is still there, though not as fierce as it was, and he has settled into the idea that maybe what had happened had been for the best. After all, what could he offer to someone as bright and vibrant as Julie?

He'd found the library almost by accident, in mindless wandering that had led him down increasingly unfamiliar corridors all looking the same as the last. At the door, he stands in slack-jawed amazement.

Books are something out of reach for him. Words shift and letters morph into other ones and he can't remember the last time he was able to read anything. It's just another level of detachment, making the Dead's separation from the Living all that more complete. He feels like he used to read a lot, but he doesn't remember enjoying it. The recollection of paper shifting under his fingers flashes in and out in faded greyscale.

He moves through the shelves, occasionally trailing his fingers along the spines of books and enjoying the sensation of it. Occasionally, he pulls one out, but doesn't give it much attention before carefully putting it back.

R would like to remember how to read, but much like his ability to pronounce more than four syllables at a time, it's long gone.]

c] inside; misc. room

[He could tell no one had been in this room for a while simply by the smell - or lack thereof - of life in it. However, what had drawn his attention hadn't been the vacancy, but the gramophone and stack of records clearly visible from the door as he'd opened it.

Music filters out into the hallway - Sinatra, at first, then Dean Martin later, switching now and then between the two. R sits on the floor and sways gently from side to side, eyes closed.]

d] wildcard; meet him anywhere!

a

[avoracious]

[Right, so: this is definitely weird. On the other hand, is it the weirdest thing Ling's experienced in his life? Not even in the top ten. So, sure, when he stumbles across a guy who's apparently dead apart from his lively gaze lying in the garden with a cat on him--what's he gonna do, criticize? No way.]

[Instead, after some scrutiny and thought, he raises a hand in greeting. Even though he's looking down at R, look, he's doing his best.]

Nice cat.

[keephersafe]

[R can't move. Or, rather, he doesn't want to disturb the lively creature sleeping on his chest or remove the faint sensation of a heartbeat pulsing against his ribs from the wrong side. He heard the footsteps approaching and had turned his head, and the hand not tucked behind it lifts in a mimicked greeting.]

Thanks.

[He'd pet it, but... it's asleep. R almost-smiles.]

Not mine.

[avoracious]

You sure? She doesn't agree, I don't think.

[Without waiting for an invitation, Ling crouches, elbows resting on his knees so he can observe the cat better. The cat, for its part, opens one eye just a little bit to look at him, then grumpily closes it again.]

You shouldn't argue with a cat, hey? Cats always win.

[keephersafe]

[He supposes there's a point to be made there. The cat appears to have claimed him for a sleeping spot, at least for now, though who knew what kinds of fickle thoughts might run through its head. This is the point where he knows M would make some kind of comment about women, but R isn't that kind of guy.

The movement is noted, and this time sure he won't startle the animal he rubs his fingers slowly into the thick fur around its neck.]

How do you know... it's a girl?

[livemoore]

[ There's that zombie friend reaction she was going for. Liv smiles at the noise he makes; she can tell, in his eyes, he's there. He just can't get all his words out perfectly. But he's trying, and she's fine with it, so now they're friends. Possibly the only people like this in the entire mansion. ]

It is, but it's better than starving.

[ Looking around a little, Liv wets her lips and looks at him semi-seriously again. ]

I think we should stick together. I can pass as alive and human but I'm...well. I'm worried about you. Has anyone said anything to you or done anything?

[livemoore]

[ Uhhhhhhh welp. Liv is the weird science but does she even dare say anything about that out loud. NOPE. ]

I mean, I see weird things, working for the medical examiner's office. And I'm a consultant for the police.

[ Oh, here's a thing she can maybe say? It worked on Clive and it still does for the rest of the PD. ]

I have...visions. I'm not a psychic, I can't predict things. I just...see them. After they've happened and a dead victim can't exactly tell us what went on. Does that count as weird science?

[keephersafe]

[He nods to her offer, then shakes his head slowly to her question.]

No. [But it's not like he can't see what she's getting at. Even in his metaphorical Sunday best R is never going to quite pass as one hundred percent living and anyone with half a mind to take a second look would realise something was wrong with him.

He lets out a quiet, involuntary wheeze of air and waves one hand vaguely in front of him.]

Keep quiet. Keep.. to myself. No one really.. bothers me.

[R shrugs.]

Yet.

[livemoore]

Good. That's good, R. Back home, people are starting to figure out that zombies are real. It's been bad. Really bad. People panic.

[ Liv's really worried about that; what if something sparks her aggression here? What if the closets stop working? These events people talk about really freak her out, but she'll just have to cross that bridge when she gets to it. ]

Do you have a room yet?

[ Wherever he is, she's planning on relocating closer to him. ]

[keephersafe]

[People panic, she says, and he knows exactly what she means. In his world, people panic for good reason. A hoard of hungry Dead is enough to make most Living pray, whether they believe in a god or not. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought far enough ahead, to the eventuality of people finding out what he is.

He really tries not to think too much about what might happen then.]

Mm. [R says, and he nods.] First floor. Less stairs.

[He smiles crookedly. It's a joke.]

[livemoore]

[ Liv can't help but smile. She gets it. ]

Then I'll move to the first floor. I've only been here a little while, I think I can manage a move.

[ She'd been on the third, but she's also mobile and spry. She can move if it means making sure no one puts anything sharp through R's brain. ]

If that's okay with you, I mean. I don't mean to come across like a weird zombie babysitter.

[keephersafe]

[Nailed it.

He hadn't considered that someone here might actually want to make sure he was safe. Even in this short time meeting someone almost just like him, he hadn't thought about it. Connecting with people is still new to him, but he feels that faint tingle like something pricking up his spine again and he realises that she's concerned enough about him to care.

And he shrugs, because if he's honest, he doesn't mind as much as he doesn't expect it of her.]

Okay with me. [He says.] But you don't.. have to.

[shrinkage]

[ ray's head wobbles on its axis as he considers the favored theory among wonderland transplants. it's not his favorite, but he can understand the feeling of clarity accepting it as true would offer. ]

Well, Wonderland does appear to remove memories from us at will and without warning. But the vendors have that capability, too.

[livemoore]

[ Uh oh. Beauty queen speech coming through and she can't stop it, even if she wanted to. It's just happening. ]

I know I don't have to. But I feel like it's my job, as an advocate for peace in a time when people can judge others based on how pale they are or how many beats per minute their heart pounds, to look out for others. Helping one another get by in this place is the only way we'll ever begin to build a bridge toward a greater understanding and tolerance.

[ Yiiiikes. She pauses, looking somewhat sheepish. ]

And that was the pageant girl in me. Literally. ]

[livemoore]

'Vendors?' What are those?

[ No one's mentioned that to her before, and she tilts her head to the side a little. As they walk, they pass someone and Liv can't help doing a little wave and smiling brightly which earns her nothing in response because it was probably weird. ]

[shrinkage]

Oh, don't mind him, he's not really a people person--

[ ray quietly murmurs his reassurance before returning to the task at hand: ]

The creepy being out beyond the gardens? You can get more sophisticated stuff from them if you have something to pay with. I hear they'll take things other than memories if they're good enough, but-- the memory thing is pretty weird.