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+ ENTRANCEWAY TEST DRIVE MEME +

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! ♥

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You want to negotiate this. [ a story. and, presumably, a dance. ] You want to barter.

[ the device doesn't show more than her head and shoulders, but it's not difficult to tell that she's got her hands on her hips -- stalwart and resistant. ]

No.

[ -- truly, an epic battle for the ages. ]

Come on! [ that suave and smooth persona disappears immediately. now, he's like a kid being told he's not allowed to go see the girl he likes. not that he likes gamora, saying so would make it spoken and peter is kind of maybe okay with it being unspoken. ]

Please? Please, please, please, please, please, pleasepleasepleaseplease pleaaaaaaaase!

[ he pouts, bats his eyelashes, tries to do his best baby groot impersonation. he's not going to stop until she says yes. ]

Whatever moon MJ walked on, it isn't worth this.

[ -- not worth the petulance nor the pouting nor the very strange and misguided attempt to woo her agreement through childish tantrums.

notably, however, she is not saying that the story isn't worth a dance. just not a dance with with this pleading hot mess. ]

[ it usually works for groot. that's the last he takes any pointers from a tree! ]

[ his expression settles, and his voice goes firm. ] Fine! [ he's still being a brat. he crosses his arms against his chest in a bid to appear less petulant. ]

But for your information, Gamora, the moon MJ walked on was the greatest pop moon in pop music history! And you are missing out on witnessing one of my favourite things about my home. I wore my best moon shoes for this!

[ he actually didn't. he's wearing one converse shoe and one boot. shoes here are weird. ]

[ fuck, you try her patience peter quill. you try it so hard. but somehow somewhat somewhy, she sticks around. even in wonderland, she'll stick around. it's what they do. ]

Put it like that and you make it sound as though you're the one missing out.

[ on the opportunity to boast like the boastful bastard you are. ]

Because I am!

[ duh, gamora! haven't you gotten it through your thick beautiful green brain that he just wants to impress you? mom once told him what his father did a long time ago that used to embarrass her — or he likes to think it was about his father, the version of him she knew and not the one that decided to be an egomaniac and try and destroy the child of the only woman he allegedly loved. when you like someone, you make a fool out of yourself in front of them. ]

[ it literally explains every interaction between them. ]

I'm missing out on seeing your face when you see me do the best moonwalk ever! I want to see your face!

[ suffice to say, terran courtship rituals was never part of the curriculum for a daughter of thanos. nor anyone's courtship rituals, frankly. don't blame her; blame the mad titan.

-- but for the mild softening of her expression and the indulgence which follows? peter has himself to blame for that. ]

I'm on the roof. It's no moon, but you're welcome to walk it all the same.

You're on — [ peter realises that she's agreed. gamora has agreed, and she's given him her location. that was easy! ]

[ ignore the fact he could've figured it out if he'd looked around where she was. peter enjoys making life difficult for himself. ]

[ his smile beams brightly. ] I'll be right there! Don't move! Don't even breathe! [ and peter bolts from the room he's in, climbing stairs, running through hallways, making a detour to grab a burger from he kitchen. when he arrives on the roof, it's in a blaze of rushed glory and with a burger in his mouth. ]

[ mouth full: ] Gama, you're cheer. [ that's what it sounds like. attractive, isn't it. ]

[ ...what fresh hell has she brought upon herself.

gamora sits on the roof's ledge -- facing inward -- with a sword on her knees. it's no godslayer; the closets, infernal as they are, won't grant her her rightful blade. and as peter approaches, manners flapping loose in the wind, it's evident that she'd been sharpening the weapon's edge.

but, on his arrival, she sets the sword aside by leaning it against the ledge's lip. with a creak of leather, she stands. ]

Swallow, Peter. [ a beat. ] Then try again.

[ breathing is so overrated, btw. but he does just that — swallows, breathes, thinks to eat again before realising that that had been the issue all along. ]

Gamora, you're here! [ the elation on his face shifts as his brows pull together. ] You seriously didn't understand me just then? I thought we were connected — [ here, he gestures between them with his hand. as if that's all he needs, he starts to move closer toward her, taking in their surroundings. wonderland is cool, but gamora makes it more beautiful. ]

But of course you know you're here. You're you. I'm me. I'm glad you're here. Even though we are clearly connected by the unspoken thing no one speaks about, I so knew you were here. [ add a pfft. peter quill is star-lord and star-lord is the greatest hero in the galaxy. he just doesn't know where his guardians are at. that happens from time to time. ]

I could feel it.

[ it stops being an unspoken thing if you keep talking about it so much, wow.

gamora stands with a hand on her hip. her head tilted, too, just so. she's a little like a cat at rest -- moody, but not tense. not yet. it could all change at a moment's notice. ]

You couldn't. [ liar. she rolls her eyes. but there is some charm to what he's trying to say -- to suggest that they might mean something to each other even outside the usual circumstances.

'they' as in the team, of course. not (heaven forfend) she and him specifically. hm! ]

And if I were you I wouldn't be so quick to call myself glad. [ peter. ] We're trapped.

Pfft. No we're not. [ peter shakes his head, and mouths trapped. it's almost like he's about to laugh again, but he thinks differently on it. ]

Haven't you ever heard of Wonderland? You're not trapped! [ with a great big gesture, peter's arms swing out in a bid to encompass all of wonderland. ] There's a whole world out there waiting for us to shrink and grow too tall and eat and risk getting our heads cut off. [ for a moment he looks out on the grounds, a little distracted by it. he remembers ego's planet, how beautiful and big it'd been. wonderland isn't like that, though. it's found within the pages of a book, on a shelf in a house he doesn't know whether it still stands tall and proud or if it's withered away much like the planet of ego. ]

[ he looks at her, and the grand gestures, the big speeches, the desire to somehow spur her into action and seeing the positives is gone. he's much quieter. ] Why do you always look at the glass like it's half empty? It's half full! And maybe full of the good stuff that'll make us super tall!

[ wonderland. others have called it that, too. but peter's familiarity takes her by surprise. gamora's mouth draws down into a grimace. there are moments when his enthusiasm is catching. downright contagious. there are moments when he puts his listening-devices on her ears and she feels herself getting swept up in the funny truncated descriptions of people, of artists, of times.

now is not one of those times. ]

You know this place? [ a glimmer of disbelief muddled with hope. maybe he's right; maybe they're not trapped. how's that for glass half full? ]

Duh! [ he looks at gamora, face scrunched up. his expression's one that obviously takes for granted the fact that he has a world that's rich with literature and music, and gamora's has always lacked in those bits of entertainment. ] Who doesn't know this place? Other than everyone in the galaxy who's never picked up a book.

[ so, everyone but him. but that's the best part about it — peter won't say so, but he's really looking forward to seeing gamora's face struggle with staying guarded and supposedly unaffected. this place will break her and see her smile. he can feel it in his bones. ]

[ he looks back out to the grounds, hands in the pockets of his jacket. ] Everyone from my home knows about this place. If they know how to read, they know Wonderland. [ his voice shifts, as it often does when he speaks of his mother — it becomes kinder, softer, if a little longing. ] My mom used to read it to me. I never liked the book, there wasn't enough action and talking caterpillars freaked me out at the time. But I think I can give the caterpillar another chance after meeting Rocket.

[ this time, when she glances over her shoulder, she looks at the mansion's grounds with new eyes. well -- ever-so-slightly new eyes. this time, her gaze can appreciate that maybe (somehow) this means something to peter quill.

and if it means something to him (truly, completely, genuinely) then perhaps it ought to mean something to her also. she betrays that first bleeding edge of acceptance. it helps to hear him talk about his mother. she likes the threadbare notes in his voice whenever he dares to divulge something new about her. it's when she's certain he's at his most honest.

gamora approaches by a step. ]

I find it hard to believe all of this is from a -- a story. [ but her head tilts and her guard softens. ] What else do you know about it?

[ peter's looking out at wonderland while gamora goes through her necessary motions. wonderland had almost felt like ego's world — beautiful and rich and out of this world impossible. but he trusts wonderland, because it belongs to mom. mom wouldn't let him read a book if she thought it was dangerous, and he likes to think that she hadn't told him about his dad's true essence because she knew, deep down, that despite how much she loved him, he wasn't a good man — thing — being. ]

[ peter trusts his mom, so that's why he trusts wonderland with gamora — because mom trusted it with him. ]

Well. [ he settles his shoulders, squinting for a moment as he tries to pick the best parts of the story. ] There's a croquet game with the queen. You need to watch out for her because she likes to behead people and you've got a nice head. And there's tea-time, although I can't remember the exact time it happens. But there's a lot of food, and the Mad Hatter's there. I think he'd be pretty cool. Maybe he'd give us a hat or a scone or something. [ he shrugs his shoulders. ] And there's stuff you shouldn't eat and drink …

[ he looks at her then, eyes almost popping out of his head. ] Have you eaten anything since you got here? Don't tell me you ate something that said "SHRINK ME"!

[ ignorant of the wheels turning in his head, she finds herself (once again) bewitched by the frenetic pace at which peter races through another fractal of terran culture. this one seems altogether less likely than all the others. then again, it's meant to come from a story. and although he tells it artlessly, she decides already that she likes his telling best.

(not that she'll inform him of that preference. never.)

gamora watches him while he talks. she reads every shrug and squint -- looking for truth, or maybe a glimmer of nostalgia. his, of course. she's got so little of her own; she rather likes piggybacking on his better memories.

but then he gets ridiculous again. and with a growling sigh, she asks: ] I'm the same height I've always been. Aren't I?

[ so, no, obviously -- she's not eaten anything that said 'shrink me'. but maybe she's had some currant scones with blackberry jam. they were delicious. ]

Edited 2017-06-03 22:59 (UTC)

[ peter squints and studies gamora, standing on the tips of his toes, then lowering himself so he's looking up at her. he measures her up to what he knows of her — she's green and statuesque. it eventually just becomes an excuse to look at her, so peter squints his eyes and tries to smoothy move away from what he'd found himself doing. ]

[ he hums. ] Hmm … [ and reluctantly: ] I guess … I think I need to keep an eye on you. You may shrink and become Groot size, and my ears aren't equipped to pick up [ his voice goes shrill in his imitation of "girly": ] "I am Gamora!" [ his voice goes back to normal. ] Just be careful of what you eat, okay? If you ended up shrinking and being stepped on then I'd be really sad. Not that I think you'd be stepped on, because I think the person would lose their foot even if you were the size of Groot.

[ she suffers his scrutiny with a roll of her eyes and a growl beneath her breath. so perhaps she doesn't much suffer it at all, registering his displeasure with relish. even so, gamora doesn't stop him -- it's easier, by times, to let peter play his foolishness out. when you attempt to waylay him, it risks him redoubling his antics. ]

Or maybe you should be careful, instead. [ she counters, giving his chest a light nudge with the flat of her palm whenever she's deemed his examination had come too close; too near; too personal. ] I don't envy your chances if you find yourself at Groot's height and he's feeling combative.

[ -- yes, yes she is proposing tiny fight club. yes, yes she is implying you would lose. ]

[ he pretends the nudge hurts. bringing his hand to his chest, he rubs at the spot where she's touched him and mouths ow with a slight pull to his brows. gamora is an assassin, a fierce green-skinned warrior who takes no shit and delivers it to those who are annoyances in the galaxy, and yet her touch is so, so soft. ]

[ pretending to be injured goes right out the door when he gets what she's implying. oh stars no, sister! he could totally take on baby groot in fight club. he's the brad pitt here! or maybe the edward norton. he's the lead here! ]

I could take on Groot! Just because he's a tree and grows to be super, super tall and super strong and super indestructible doesn't mean that I don't stand a chance! I'm Star-Lord. He's a I am Groot. What kind of fighter name is that?

[ a snort of laughter when he suggests it's somehow about the name of whoever steps into the ring. as though names matter more than training; technique; discipline. though one could argue peter's lack of all three lends a certain advantage to the way in which he barrels through life. although it's unfair of gamora to consider him untrained simply because hers was of a markedly different sort.

she shakes her head. ]

I'd put my units on Groot. Every time, Peter.

[ so faithless, she. ]

[ his hand goes to his chest, a loud slap as he feels his heart completely disintegrate in his chest. his mouth drops open and peter purposefully ensures he's wearing a look of utter devastation on his face right now. ]

[ he knows it won't work with gamora. she's too strong, too resilient, to falter underneath the belief that she has broken him. but he hopes to play on the unspoken thing between them, and the fact he totally knows, deep down, she'd nurse him back to health if groot did kick his ass. the idea of seeing if she would makes this tempting enough to actually follow through with. ]

[ then he sings, ] Shot through the heart and you're to blame!

[ he rubs his hand against his chest, purposefully wincing. ] Ow, everything inside of me hurts at your lack of belief in me! I could kick ass. I could kick Groot's ass as a tiny Peter! [ mocking groot, his voice goes high, attempting to sound nasally like the little tree he adores: ] I am Peter!

[ so dramatic. gamora's sigh is audible as he performs his one man show. once, he might have been able to fool her with his clownish overreactions and his boisterous play; not so any longer. she's gained a sense for these things -- one she arguably should have gained much earlier.

(he's right, of course. she would nurse him back to health. the more relevant question is whether he'd survive her callous care-taking. her bedside manner likely leaves something to be desired.)

for now, however, she settles on a slight smile. he's entertaining. to the say the least. ]

You sound ridiculous. [ is that a prelude to laughter, sneaking in? ] You should hope he never hears you mocking him.

[ groot, in his current iteration, seems like the cartoonishly vengeful sort. ]

I ... [ his voice grows firmer. ] I hope he does!

[ he really, really does not hope for this. if groot hears it, he thinks the tree will cry and refuse to speak to him ever again. and peter really cannot have that at all. so, please, no one tell him! ]

Because I'd kick his ass! Tiny Peter could totally take on Tiny Groot!

[ no, he could not. because even if he did try, groot's had experience of being a baby while peter's used to being a fully grown man. this was not a well-thought out idea. he really wishes to backtrack right now but, because he's stupid and he wants to impress gamora out of some odd urge he doesn't quite understand, he doesn't. ]

[ you know, it's a marvel she doesn't smile. gamora never used to take pleasure in riling someone up -- not like this. it's always been more satisfying to throw the punch or stab the gut or do whatever it is galaxy-class killers do to get the job done. but this behaviour -- needling and teasing -- is a learned one. taken by association ever since she's spent so long careening through space with these assholes.

and peter is the sweetest rile of them all. ]

Not that we'll ever know for certain. It isn't something you can prove -- not unless you manage to find this food and drink from your story.

[ this should be a harmless quest to set him on, right? surely the mansion won't explode come the end. ]

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astrological - 2017-06-07 21:07 (UTC) - Expand

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