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test drive meme

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( the test drive meme )

This is for anyone wanting to test out their characters in the setting before the applications open, see what clicks. Multiples will be allowed for this post, and you can generally assume any threads are a self-contained continuity unless you feel like getting creative.

Just post a thread with your CHARACTER NAME and CANON NAME in the title with a prompt and others will reply. Prompts and threads can be action spam or prose or whatever. These threads can be used on the sample section of your application, as well. Go out and have fun! Feel free to consult the institute tour and dorm guide for setting info. We also encourage you to check out the "!!event" tag on the IC comms to brush up on the story so far.

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[ WHY IS HE STILL TALKING TO HER? WHY IS HE STILL THERE? She glances around the room, trying to take comfort in the fact that there are other people there. She shrugs again. ]

Kindergarden. [ She knows that wasn't what he meant. Everyone draws in kindergarden. She draws a kindergarden version of a tree on the edge of the paper. ]

[Sorry, he's incurably social and nice. It's a thing. And now he laughs softly, not at all put off by her evasive answer.]

No wonder you're so good, then. [He smiles, and holds up a finger, moving it as if drawing a flower on his cheek and focusing really hard, actually managing to leave a bright pink flower there for a few moments before it fades.]

Most people only doodle, though. You're drawing. I think there's a difference.

[ Her lips twitch in a semblance of a smile as the pink flower appears and fades on his cheek and - in spite of herself - she relaxes, just a bit. ]

We had a really good art teacher at my last school.

[ She bites her lip, not hard enough to draw blood but it's close. ]

How'd you do that?

Mm, good teachers are usually a good reason to learn how to do something.

[He hums, as always scrambling for words to describe his power.]

I can... hmm, change how people see me, both literally or more figuratively, see? [He grimaces slightly.] There's no way of saying that without it sounding way more creepy than it is. I'm not some master manipulator, but that's what it sounds like.

[ You know that little bit she'd managed to relax before? Yeah, that's gone now. At least she's not running from the room in panic?

It feels like something has gotten lodged in her throat, stopping her words and hindering her breathing. She tries to swallow it down but it just won't go away. ]

So you...

Can manipulate minds, yes.

[For all that he's sorry that he's scared her, he knows that it's better to be honest about it, or it just seems like there's something he's trying to hide. But at least he can try to minimize the damage.]

But I've got much better control nowadays, so I don't do anything except turn myself invisible to people unless, you know, it's an emergency. [Or he wants to buy booze, but never mind.]

[ She doesn't know what to say to that, so she doesn't say anything. She wished she knew what he wanted from her, what reason he had for even talking to her in the first place. He had to be a senior and she was only a freshman, so there was no reason for them to interact. Was he just being friendly? Or was there something else behind it all? But then why would he be so upfront with her about what he could do? It didn't make any sense. So maybe he just really was some weirdly nice kid after all. Unless it was all just some ploy to lull her into a false sense of security.

Her thoughts keeps going like this, just round and round like some kind of scratched and broken record, until all she wanted to do was scream for them to shut up. To leave her in peace.

She digs her nails deep into the palm of her hand where he can't see, her teeth biting hard into the inside of her cheek. It feels as if her lips have been stitched together by some kind of invisible thread. She can't speak. ]

[He shifts a little bit. It's not a big movement, but it's a clear gesture that he's trying to not have her cornered, to leave her an opening to run away if she wants to, or just to leave. His voice comes out soft, and there's no blame in it.]

I'm really sorry if I scared you. It's alright, you wouldn't be the first one. [He pauses, tilting his head a bit.] Do you want me to leave?

[ She looks past him, out into the room. There are still other people there, watching tv or just hanging around talking. Even if he wanted to do something he wouldn't be able to in front of a room of other students. Does she still want him to leave? Yes. ...Maybe. She shrugs, swallowing down the lump in her throat. ]

It's a free country. [ She says and hands the decision back to him. It's easier that way. She doesn't know what she wants. She wants to not be afraid anymore. ]

[He hesitates a bit, not sure what that means. For all that he can be very good at reading people, the same doesn't really go for their intentions. He dithers a bit, looking awkward, and then decides to take a seat by the window, giving her even more of an opening in case she wants to leave.]

So... Mm, what can you do? [That should be a safe enough topic, at least.]

[ She tries to make herself relax but is only partly successful. He's not making any threatening movements and she's managed to work out an escape plan in case he does before he's decided to sit down. All that time planning disaster drills in her head at her old school seemed to have payed off.

She takes a deep breath and concentrates. It doesn't always work, in fact it often doesn't but this time she's can see him freeze right in the middle of a breath. It's not going to last long, so she hurries to tear off the corner of her paper that contains the kindergarden version of her tree and places it in his hand. She's just managed to lean back to a safe distance again, her heart in her throat, when her powers stops working. ]

Guess.

[He blinks, and after a moment stares down at the slip of paper in his hand. Then he laughs, delighted, like a child who has been shown an impressive magic trick.]

Ooh, that's brilliant~! Some kind of time manipulation or maybe super speed?

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