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test drive meme

+ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER TDM +

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER TEST DRIVE MEME
It's Chinese for 'Japan.'

Prompt A: Serious Event

A memory is displayed. It's yours, the most traumatic of your life whether it was a terrifying clown encounter or the death of someone you love. It's on a loop for everyone to see. You can enter the memory and take your own place, but no matter how hard you try, you cannot alter the outcome. You're forced to try in vain to change what happened or watch until you decide it's too much and walk away. If you can.

Prompt B: Lighter Event

Welcome to Storybrooke.

You've lived in a quiet town in Maine for as long as you can remember. You are a fishmonger or a diner employee, perhaps you work at the hospital. Whatever you do and whoever you are, it's not the real you. You are cursed and you know no other life outside of Storybrooke.

When the curse breaks (either from True Love's Kiss or, in a more TDM friendly, handwaved way), you have two sets of memories: who you were, and who you are. Do you choose to accept all that you were cursed to believe, or would you rather slip back into your old life? The choice is yours.

Prompt C: ediS rorriM

Use this prompt to test out your mirrors. Are they loyal to the new White Queen or do they think she's too good to be true? Do they long to cross over or spend their days tormenting reals? Whatever the scenario, know that the Queen is watching, and let that guide you - or not.

Prompt D: Choices

Any scenario goes! Thread out your character's arrival, have them act like a long-established resident, let our past events inspire your scene, or write up literally any Wonderland-based scenario you feel like playing with.

Rules

Test drive memes go up every other month. Please note that any threads made as part of the test drive meme don't count towards your activity check, and they can't be used as samples for any future applications. Thank you for understanding, and have fun!

NAVIGATION ♥ RESERVES ♥ APPLICATION ♥ INPUT & INQUIRIES

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"And let me guess, you're about as comfortable with witches as Gren was when we were in your world, huh?" Well, his memories of their world, but she got the feeling it is a cultural thing. "I've known very few. We're still hunted in my world, and burned at the stake if caught," she adds, chin lifting then. She isn't afraid to be honest about that, to gauge if it's a concern she needs to have from others in Wonderland.

"I don't think I qualify then as mortal like," she admits, smirking a bit at that. "Because I've found very little gruesome about Gren. No more so than my own world." Which is exactly why she doesn't find him off putting.

Though when Bigby describes it that way, she actually laughs. Maybe it shouldn't be amusing, but that sounds exactly about the things she's heard. "Funny. That is how I would say he describes you," she notes, figuring that isn't going to be anything surprising. "I tend to be the one putting people back together though."

"Eh." He doesn't like the 13th Floor, but he's not uncomfortable with them. "I think a lot of the ones back in our world are assholes, but most Fables are. Except the ones who are just giant, fucking nut sacks."

Crooked Man. Crane. Hansel. Jersey. Fucking Jersey.

"I am an asshole. But I don't start fights." He doesn't. He just ends them. "Gren's got a temper and forgets just what I am under this." He pinches his skin, tugging it and letting go. "Doc Sawbones does it for us. When we don't throw hissy fits and decide we don't want arms."

She snorts at that. "Some witches are assholes. I won't deny that," she says, rolling her eyes and thinking about Fiona. "Some are just descendants in my world. Those that inherited abilities they want to use to help others."

Not that she isn't capable of being an asshole as well, and she knows it.

It shouldn't make her smile warmly when he speaks of Gren's temper. She's seen it, though never directed at her, so maybe that's why it's just part of who he is to her and not something to be concerned about.

The expression freezes though, never having been one to intrude about what happened to his arm. Now she wonders and realizes she isn't going to ask him about it. Not Bigby. "Given Gren, it's probably that he doesn't care.'

Not commenting on the rest, not defending him. It's not her place, much as the desire to do so rises up within, not angry with Bigby but emotional enough to want to protect someone that definitely didn't need her trying to defend them.

"Just who or what is Dr Sawbones that he heals what most considers mythical?" She is curious about that kind of healer.

"We're about four or five generations into descendants from some of them. Jack probably has kids from one side of the planet to the other. Same for fucking Charming."

And it isn't just because Charming treats women he respects like shit. Though that doesn't help.

He shrugs and closes his eyes briefly, letting the wind carry scents and fresh coldness over his skin.

"He's one of us. Most of us don't interact with non-Fables much. Keep to ourselves. Makes it easier."

"Again, not so different, though most tend to only have a child or two in my world. Some stopped all together because of the way some of the magic manifests." She thinks about Zoe, knowing she will never have children. Misty hadn't ever considered it before realizing with this talk as things stands, her line could end with her as well.

"Do you troubles with people being around?" Even as she asks, she slides back a step, shifting to pull the shawl tighter around her. It's a thicker one than she wears in summer, but not enough for the snow more than likely. "I know the vampires sometimes have issues with the smells of my garden. I hadn't thought about... It's easy to accept what is seen, which is the point, I'm sure."

She nods at that, trying not to roll his eyes. "I figured he was a Fable, but what he uses for healing. Though the insular life is much easier than dealing with people. I can't blame any of you for that. It's a bit harder here. Which... It's been nice. Not being isolated all the time."

She looks cold.

Ignoring the question for now, Bigby slides off his coat, shaking it out and offering it to her, like a gentleman helping a lady into her evening cloak. "Fables don't age."

Their children can. Sometimes. Grandchildren definitely do. The story and magic weakens.

"No idea. Rarely had need of it."

Misty starts to object, but the moment she feels the warm she can't help but snuggle into it. "I... I'm not used to the cold. It's amazing though. I can't help it, wanting to be out here."

It's an excuse to not go inside. Both because she's enjoying it, but also wanting to know more. Not just about Fabletown but about Bigby as well.

"No one ages here," she points out, noticing that he ignored the question. It nearly makes her smile. He isn't the first to try and ignore the way she smells, that she is more outdoors than human sometimes. "Which makes some things easier," she notes, more for herself than for him.

She considers him for a moment, staring at him curiously. "You don't have to avoid others here, you know. Or even be who you aren't."

Bigby gives off warmth and while not a snow weather coat, it's more than the shawl she's got on.

"As I said, cold doesn't bother me. I was born to it. You might need to head inside in the next hour or so, let yourself warm up again." It's a suggestion, she can do what she wants.

"I'm not very social. Don't avoid people, just don't need much company." He's comfortable with himself. "Not sure what you mean by that, though."

"Probably. Eventually someone will come looking for me, I'm sure," she says, smiling a bit at that. It's nice having others that will worry about her and look for her. It's not something she's entirely used to but it's nice.

"I suppose I can understand that. Didn't have much company before, so learning to adjust to here it here has been nice." And one she wants others to find happiness and joy in if they want it as well.

Pausing then, considering how to word this. "I'm just saying this world isn't a place where normal and human is expected," she says with a shrug. "That's all."

He wonders is 'someone' is 'Gren', because he doesn't feel like fighting with the other Fable right now.

"But there's an awful lot of mundane humans here, even if this place is fairytale land."

There are someones that are not Gren, but it might be Gren who seeks her out as well. Not that she is planning to name him. Not if she wants to continue to try and ease things so her world is as good as it can be.

Which may have meant avoiding Bigby, but that is just not in her nature.

"And they're living in a world where it isn't about their fears and phobias as well. More will defend a witch being burned at the stake here than ever would have back home, after all." Not that she wants to think about the carnage that might happen if someone tried to burn her. It would be bad, and she knows it.

"Don't stand by burning people alive. Or boiling them." He has feelings about those things. "I'm an asshole, but I don't like exploitation or torture."

He and Woody frequently get into bust ups. But they're both giving as good as they get. It's what he hates about the Tweedles, the underhanded wretches.

"Honestly, I never thought you would," she says, meaning it. Nothing she's heard made her think that. "Though... boiling? Why are they boiling people?"

She's been through one of them, and the other just leaves her stunned, staring at him with such confusion.

Bigby shrugs and wishes he had something to do with his hands. This not smoking thing feels great on his nose and lungs, but his hands don't like it.

"People do things to each other." Not humans. People.

Still, water under the bridge. He and Colin patched shit up.

"Colin would love this fucking place."

"Never heard of that. Newest terrible thing I've heard of." And she's heard of a lot as she huddles inside the coat, more from fear and memories than from the cold.

"It's better here than I've seen elsewhere. Here they're doing things to you. Except... except one time." When she saw what happened to Claire. That had been different.

"If I ask who Colin is, are you just going to tell me someone from back home?"

"You should read more fairytales. Plenty of terrible things in them."

Terrible is just part of Fables life. Frequently, Bigby is the terrible that happens.

"Not much else to say, is there? He's-" Bigby's only friend. "A guy who crashes my place far too often. He hates where he lives, up at the Farm, so he comes to stay with me. Nicks my smokes and whiskey."

"I just finished Beowulf," she admits, smiling weakly because it had taken her a while. "And when I read them and thought about them, it wasn't as real. I've seen more than one person burned at the stake, so that was ..." She stops herself, taking a breath. "Does your story cover more than the obvious one?"

She's read Gren's. She would read his as well.

"Oh. He lives on the farm. I see." And she did then. A bit more from that detail. "I noticed you kept reaching for your pockets. You know you can get them from the closet, right?"

"I'm- not like most of the others. My story's old. Long as there's been wolves, people have feared them. Peter. The pigs. Red and Woody and Grandmama. Aesop."

There aren't wolves for every story. There is only one wolf. The Wolf.

"It's habit. I fucking hate cigarettes, but I've been smoking since the Industrial Revolution. Used to having something to do with my hands." He looks at her. "Gren told you about the Farm?"

"So you're all of them? All that have ever been told?" Even with what she and Gren discussed, about the fact that the stories are told by the victor, the idea tells as much about Bigby as it did about Gren. Not that either bothers her, and she's assured Gren of that. She doubts Bigby cares.

"They have a new thing. Least in my world. Called vaping. It's more flavored water and not poison. Not that poison matters to you, I guess, but still." She at least feels that telling him about it might help.

She nods then, not knowing how much of a problem that might be. "We've talked about a lot about both of our worlds and what we've been through."

Bigby doesn't say yes. But he certainly doesn't say no. His look suggests she knows the answer, in her heart.

"Sounds like a different problem. I smoked to mask the stench of the city. Just have to find something else to do with fingers." It's both a blessing and a curse of walking on two legs instead of four."

It isn't a problem. This world is a fairytale world and the residents all already aware of magic and fairytale things. Gren can say what he wants to who he wants here, by the rule of the Exiles. "Colin wants to live in the city, but he can't afford a glamour and can't really use one anyway. Work best if you actually walk on two legs."

She certainly does, and while she knows that her vision of him is tinged due to the high emotions she feels for Gren, she can't help but consider him in a very different light. Especially in knowing Gren's story.

Was the Wolf always the bad guy, or did the victor write the stories so that a sheriff doing his job is suddenly a bastard destroying homes and eating grandmothers. Though she isn't sure she can find a reason for the latter, but she's also not sure she wants to ask.

She smiles a bit at that. "There's a few things that might help with that though I warn they may look a bit like toys. I'm told they help though," she offers, knowing she will go to the closet and summon a few to see if they help him.

She nods at that. "I've been experimenting with a few ideas on spell craft that can help with those illusions. Not that we've found a way to get information from this world back to our own. Though if I could find a way that was affordable, easily manufactured by the right witch or magic worker..."

She makes a face with a sigh. "Just wanting to find a way to try and help."

In fairness... he ate Grandma because he was very hungry and very angry. It wasn't the best of reasons, but it's honest.

"I've put up with dog comments for the last... four centuries or so. And collars. Leashes. Jokes about vets and fleas. What other people is not something I bother with. Never has been. Looks like a toy? Doesn't bother me." He's copped abuse ever since he joined the community. No one wants him to forget what he is, even while they do forget exactly what they're dealing with.

His expression isn't disinterested. He knows a surprising amount about the theoretical and practical enactment of magic. He just can't do any of it and doesn't really get why certain things work. "Problem isn't that. It's the monopoly. Floor 13 have a stranglehold on magic and can charge whatever the fuck they want. If Cole would just let me eat one of them..."

It's a joke. It's been a joke for years. It's mostly a joke. But he thinks it might knock them into line.

"Yeah, well... you won't ever get comments like that from me. Not ever. I am more likely to slap someone that says them to you. Up to and including Gren," she admits, though she suspects she may be put to the text on that given their fight. "But I will see what I can get and see if they help. Worse is you're still looking for something like you are now," she says, more than willing to try and help if she can.

Including with magic. If she can. "Well, in theory how long does a monopoly hold if you have a free source? Or a cheaper one? I mean, if I could find a way? I'm not looking to profit from it. I'm looking to help. You. Gren. Anyone that is different and unique and being harmed before of it. So... IF I could find a way, since Gren has already found on in Wonderland, and we could get it home with you..."

She smiles then, and it's not the nicest of smile. "So then if they came after you because you undermined them, it wouldn't be murder but self defense to eat them, wouldn't it?"

The politics of Fabletown and the Farm are complex, complicated and ancient. Things were drawn up and set down long before Bigby ever joined them and while he thinks a lot of it is badly thought out, his role is to uphold the laws.

It's what he is. Always been. He is consequence for poor choice of actions.

"No magic is allowed outside of Floor 13. Because any rogue magic leaves space for the abuses I only just shut down. You introduce one rogue source and turn a blind eye, you're implicitly condoning people breaking the rules so long as they're quiet about it."

He doesn't like it, but he's seen what happens. "There was a troll called Lily. Rogue glamour use caused a shitstorm for her. She was murdered. Rogue magic use was used against her friends to control them." He gives a slight smile. "You're a good person, Misty, and I wish it was that simple. I do."

Misty has spent her entire life outside of politics and the things that most consider normal. The ways people abuse one another, the things they use against one another. So it's hard for her to watch people being hurt, people she cares about especially, because of those games.

She takes a step towards Bigby, looking confused and earnest. "But doesn't that just allow them to keep hurting your people? It gives them a stronghold, a way to threaten them and manipulate them, and you're letting them because you think you have no choice, but there has to be a way. For you and Gren. For Holly and that poor flying monkey and..."

She pauses then taking a breath. "And so that what happened to Lily never happens again. There has to be a way between monsters getting good women murdered and these witches using it all against you so that you're desperate to pay your bills and will do anything you have to so you can exist. There has to be a way."

So desperate, wanting to do anything to help them. In Wonderland. Outside of it if she can.

"One day Gren will have to go back to all of that, and it breaks my heart, Bigby. To know he'll go back to that without me and Shawn and Jessica and everything he has here. It hurts so much to imagine any of you enduring that, and there has to be a way to fix it and not let the bad ones win. There has to be."

It's frigid, and the tears are practically freezing on her lashes, and Misty doesn't care. The emotions have come out and she can't stop them now.

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