June Test Drive~!

[rubycitymods]

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.


Directions:

Post with your character with their name and canon on top!

Choose a location and prompt or wait for someone else to tag.

If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.

Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.



Locations:

1. Train Station: New arrival, or waiting to welcome people? Either way, the train comes in, but you still can't ride it out.

2. Cathedral: Looking for redemption? Just doing a little sight-seeing? Or just getting a little shelter?

3. The Clocktower: You can see the whole city from here!

4. The Black Stallion Saloon: You were told the burgers were great here-- but maybe you just came for the beer.

5. The Library: You came to do a little research, but it looks like all of the information's just out of your reach. Though, you can always find a way to pass the time here.

6. The Coffee Joint: A lovely place to have a chat and a bite to eat.

7. Le Cafe Anglais: A Parisian-British fusion that's as charming as it sounds and serves the best tea around.


Scenarios

1. Just walked in: You intended to get here, and you made your way in; but now someone's caught your eye and you'd like to have a chat.

2. Been here all day: You've been sitting around minding the time. Maybe you didn't notice them at first or maybe you were just working up the courage to talk-- either way, they know you're here and you know it too.

3. Bad weather: You're here because you've gotten rained in. This wasn't your choice, but at least it's dry-- right?

4. Wild card: Got something better in mind? Well screw these prompts, try it out yourself!


Have fun, guys!

Comments

[earlybird]

Maybe he was mistaken in his evaluation of the teen. Damian is obviously pleased by the answer.

"Agreed. Although the lack of Internet is... disappointing."

Devastating. He means devastating.

"Everyone arrives with a watch, if you're not aware. It's a telecomms device hooked into a magical intranetwork, here, where you will be privvy to all the lovestruck twittering of the City's residents."

He hates transcribing those.

"Ever heard of Gotham?" Dubious. Only a select few other-worlders have, thus far.

[slashupontheinternet]

"No internet?" Loki echoes with obvious dismay. "There's magical intranet, but I'm guessing there's a surfeit of porn and kitten videos on that." He looked Damian up and down. "Not that you'd care about the former. But kitten videos."

He shook his head, taking the ignorance about Gotham in stride. "Not an Earth I've visited in this lifetime, I guess."

[earlybird]

"I am keeping the intranet well supplied - with the latter," he adds, throwing Loki a look of disdain. "It will be recreated in Youtube's image, with Richard the cat as its guiding prophet."

For chatting with an unknown reformed villain, Damian is surprisingly at ease, fishing the watch out of his (recovered! To hell with you pixies) utility belt, proudly displaying a recording of a four-week-old tabby kitten in its younger days, stumbling along in a newborn walk, chasing after the legs and feet of the boy in front of Loki.

Behold, and weep at the sight, stranger.

"My Earth might very well be something of an analogue to yours. Different people, different events, but where you have the Avengers, we have the Justice League. I assume you're familiar with Captain America?"

[slashupontheinternet]

Loki looked at the kitten with interest. There was no weeping, but there was a snicker as the kitten fell on his face in a tangle of newborn limbs.

"You're truly a saint amongst ordinary men," he said with solemnity. "Heroically making up for the deplorable lack of cat videos in this lonely and bleak place, so as to save the sanity and hearts of your fellow prisoners."

He glanced sharply at the boy, then waved a hand nonchalantly. "He's one of my brother's bosom companions on Earth. He may have tried to punch me once." Also about million other times. "So he's here, huh? Do you know if there's anyone else, or should I just ring his doorbell and see for myself who comes to join the 'kicking the crap out of innocent little Loki' game?"

[earlybird]

"It's hardly out of altruism." He sniffs, haughty, tilting his chin up. "I'm creating a demand for which I control the main supply. And he who giveth, may also taketh away." There's the hint of a wicked smile on his face. "Modern capitalism at its finest."

Exploitation. The word you're looking for is exploitation.

His brow furrows, perplexed, at Loki's response, propping his hands up on his hips and frowning at the other.

"That doesn't sound like Rogers." The Captain wouldn't hit a kid. He wouldn't even hit Damian, and Damian tried to sink a knife into his arm at their first meeting. "There's a few others. Banner, Foster, Barnes. The older - or, technically, younger? - you was here for a while as well."

[slashupontheinternet]

Loki looked at Robin, bemused. "You're a boy after my own heart. But aren't you providing this vital service for free?"

He arched an eyebrow at Damian. "What about it doesn't sound like him?" His lips pursed slightly at the names, though he only recognized one of them. He'd need to investigate the other two.

And particularly interesting that he himself had been here. He could only hope that the other him is long gone.

[earlybird]

His nose scrunches, disdainful. "Give them the free trial, and they'll gladly pay for the continued service."

The little crime lord. How is he turning kitten videos into a black market trade?

(Who even knows what he'll be 'charging.')

"Everything, really. Rogers doesn't attack kids. Rogers doesn't really attack anyone without provocation. And I have definitely provoked him in the past, with little results. He's--" And his mouth twists on this, unhappy and a little disgusted. "--good. He wouldn't punch you, extended history or no. At the worst, you'll get an irritatingly effective disappointed look and a sincere lecture about how he sees the best in you."

Personal. Experience.

[slashupontheinternet]

"Good, good, I was a little worried you didn't know what you were doing," Loki chortled. "Good luck with that. Let me know when it crashes and burns and I'll give you a hand. I'm good at monetizing...pretty much everything."

He really likes this kid. Especially when he's talking about Captain America.

"Keep in mind that I'm not a kid. I'm a notoriously evil and millennia-old Norse god with shapeshifting and illusion powers, who's tried to kill him many times," Loki pointed out matter-of-factly. "It's going to take a while before he gets to the 'disappointed' stage with me. First he has to raise his expectations. But I understand why he'd turn that particular magic on you."

[earlybird]

"I'll take your offer under consideration." So gracious. His smirk just widens, teeth flashing in something close to a grin.

"Fair point. I still don't think Rogers would go after you like that, however. The other Loki and he seemed to get along just fine, with minimal violence."

He squints up at Loki, shifting irritably so that his cape swishes around his calves, unable to stay still for very long.

"What? Because I'm a child?"

[slashupontheinternet]

"Of course." Loki gives a slight bow, eyes sparkling.

His eyebrows rose at the mention of the other Loki, and he wondered just what he had done to 'get along' with Rogers. "Interesting. I don't think he'd hunt me down, of course. He'll leave me alone if I leave him alone and behave myself. That much I'm confident of."

He laughed. "No, no - well, yes, that too - but mostly because you're one of the good ones." His eyes glittered, recognizing what Damian was probably about to say. "Mostly."

[earlybird]

"Mostly." He can cede that. "You're not alone in the trying to make a new impression. I may have attempted to kill the previous Robin at one point."

Multiple points.

"Challenged Saber of Red to a fight." A friendly duel. If not bloodless.

"And I tried to stab Rogers when we first met. Todd, too." Well, this list was a little longer than he realized.

"Lured Napier into an ambush at the Police Station." Hm. A lot longer.

"Attacked the local pixie population--"

He shrugs, ultimately regretting none of it. Not a single bit.

"--but, you know, it's a work in progress."

[slashupontheinternet]

Loki really liked this kid. "I can clearly see why you've been subjected to Captain Rogers' patented Look of Disappointment (tm)."

He made a fist. "Stay the course, young Robin. Don't falter, for all our sakes. There have to be morally grey heroes for us possibly-reformed villains to emulate."

[earlybird]

Damian looks at the fist, up at Loki, and then back down, before curling his own hand into a fist and lightly (well, light for him) bumping it, a genuine grin trying to break out of his serious expression.

"I do what I can. Can't let our enemies think the no killing rule includes no hospitalizations. Keeps them on their toes."

And Damian just really, really enjoys violence. And property damage. It's a good night when he gets to wreak havoc and break kneecaps.

He is perfectly at home with morally gray.

[slashupontheinternet]

Loki didn't even try not to grin. Being here was already a hundred times better than he'd expected. "The world will be a better place for all of it," he chuckled.

"So is there anyone else from your version of Earth, or is it just you?" he asked with innocent curiosity.

[earlybird]

"Not many." He shakes his head. "There's a few from similar versions. Static Shock, metahuman superhero. Jack Napier, a Gotham vigilante. Strictly from my Earth? The Riddler - Edward Nygma. He's an ex-rogue, at the moment. Jason Todd, one of my predecessors, and vigilante."

Brother, too, but Damian generally holds that word in reserve.

"And there's my partner, Batman."

At this, he crosses his arms again.

"Not to be messed with. He's different."

He likes you, Loki, but if you harass Grayson in a bad way then he's coming for your kneecaps.

[slashupontheinternet]

Loki took note of whose true identity Robin concealed and who he gave up, and made a particular note to look up the Riddler. He sounded interesting.

"Well, he's your partner. I'm guessing you're going to be protective of him. Can I have more of a hint, so I know him when I see him?" He smiled and waved a hand. "I'd assume his costume involves bats, but yours doesn't have any bird features I can see, except for the red chest."

[earlybird]

"Oh, you'll know him when you hear him." A roll of the eyes follows, hidden by the domino mask but inherent in the way he tips his head as only a pre-teen really can. "He's chatty."

It's amazing how fond he can make pure scorn sound.

"He has a full suit - black, armored, cape, cowl with pointed ears, but during the daytime we prefer civilian wear." Because it's getting stupidly hot and humid. This is Damian's first full summer in this kind of climate, and he hates it. "Then it's just the same mask as mine, only black."

[slashupontheinternet]

Loki nodded, filing all of that away. "Gotcha. He's off limits."

He cocked his head. "So standing here in the rain is totally fun, but what else is there to do? I know you said no internet, but is there...food, for example?"

[earlybird]

He nods, satisfied that Loki's gotten the message. No messing with Grayson.

(What would the man do without him to watch his back, honestly?)

"Not many restaurants, but as far as food goes? The grocery store, the bar, the coffee shop, and the tea shop." The tea shop is wonderful. Damian tries to restrict himself from going too often, because he will readily pair endless refills of their Turkish coffee with the small, powdered pastries, until his nerves are buzzing and his head feels light. "All free. There's not even a bartering system in place."

Endless. Refills.

"The tea shop is good." Casual. Just a suggestion. "If you were hungry. They have sandwiches, pastries - luncheon foods."

[slashupontheinternet]

"Free?" Loki looked at him with curiosity. "Well, that'll save a bit of arguing." It wasn't as though he ever paid for anything, anyway. But in some ways, that was rather disappointing. It sort of took the fun out of running out on a cheque if there wasn't a cheque.

"Lay on, MacDuff. Show me this tea shop of which you speak."

[earlybird]

He can't stop his lips from quirking, wry and pleased. He doesn't even like Shakespeare, but the temptation is too great.

"And damned be him that first cries, 'Hold, no more donuts!'?" he quips back. Stepping out into the rain, he flips his hood up, cape flapping behind him as he stalks his way down the street with long strides, used to keeping pace with taller men.

"Most things here that are readily available are free. Housing, food, store-sold goods; magically-replenishing stock, doesn't cost anything. Items outside of that might need to be traded for, or commissioned. Generally, most here will do it as a favor."

Morrigan just gave him all those chocolate mints.

[slashupontheinternet]

"I hope there's an abundance of bacon in this realm, at least," Loki said, walking along beside Damian, looking around as they went. The rain didn't really bother him, though it did plaster his dark hair down. "Please tell me there's free bacon."

[earlybird]

"All the bacon. If you can get it before stock runs out." Bacon didn't last long, around here. "Be prepared for a fight."

It's a good thing he has boots, because his feet are sinking nearly half an inch deep into the mud covering the cobblestone roads.

He points places out as they pass - there, the clocktower, and there, the cathedral, until they come to the main square.

"This is where you'll find most of the shops. Your local Home Depot is over there, this is the grocery store - probably looted of bacon by this time of the week," he adds. "And this, next to it, is the tea shop."

Coffee, coffee, coffee. And none of that bitter, horrible stuff that Grayson drinks. Actual coffee.

[slashupontheinternet]

"Okay, come early for the bacon. Got it."

Loki wasn't sinking into the mud, oddly. There was a faint magical glow around his soles, courtesy of his seven league boots.

"Hey Robin, how far would you say our destination is, as the crow flies?"

[earlybird]

Wow, that's cheating. Damian looks down at Loki's boots, gives a haughty scoff, and continues tromping through the mud.

"From here?" He squints over at where he can see the tea shop on the left side of the plaza, near the river, and pauses to calculate. "To the door, about 199 meters. Give or take."

(A tiny Hawkeye, if he cared at all for long-range weapons like bows. He really only likes to use his estimation skills to point out Red Robin's own shortcomings.)