TEST DRIVE MEME - LATE MAY - JUNE EDITION

[stringmods]

Ahh Hinoto-Ri. City of lights, questionable Wards, the 13th Hour and Personas. A city that requires your aid in saving it.

(Note that these are prompts to give you ideas. Feel free to do something else completely like go shop or be in the apartments!)

SCENARIO 1: Q'S CAR IS NOW NUMBER 1
Well it's been a hell of a ride so far, but you've now found yourself somehow testing one of Q's vehicles.

'Oh, and do try to bring it back in one piece' he said. What are all these buttons again?!

Did you read the manual?...

...wait...

...do you even have a driving license?


SCENARIO 2: A MIDSUMMER'S DAY

The green of the forest beckons you inside. But what will you find in a place that has an acknowledged demon population?

And who can imagine lurks at night...your life may be on the line.

SCENARIO 3: THE SONG WILL BE PLAYING IN YOUR HEAD
13th hour. Although technically the 25th of each day, it is the time when this world seems to change, the entire city turning a shade of dark red, demons coming out, buildings shifting and dangers lurking at every corner.

But it's your job to make this safer. Just be careful of what you run into...


...this is rather confusing. But you've learned not to think that something you see is exactly as it might be. It could be far more dangerous and deadly than it lets on...

...but it is pretty cute.

SCENARIO 4: THIS IS JUST AN ARRIVAL PROMPT
You've arrived into Hinoto-Ri! And wow, the weather is warming right now. Like an early hot breeze in spring. At least it makes you feel more at ease...unless you came here prepared for terrible weather. Sorry! Maybe if you can find someone who knows exactly what is happening, you'll be able to confirm that it wasn't just a dream? Remember the man who said you were here as a special guest! This the city you're supposed to save, so let's find out more about it!

[[OOC - Welcome to the test post! Don't worry too much about Persona stats or your levels here, just come out and make up a scenario about what they are doing. Try out your potentials and interact with the city around you! We'll supply some NPCs once in a while when you least expect it (after all have to test those out too, right?)]]

Comments

Scenario 4

[screwattack]

The hunter, dressed in her suit and looking decked out for battle, does indeed stop upon receiving the gesture from the man working down in his lonely little lab, tilting her head to one side in amusement. Stark, you're already reminding her way too much of a certain ten story tall tin can.

Samus remains in place. She doesn't look like she's about to move any time soon.

"There have been complaints of electrical outages in other sections of the building, some of which contain sensitive government equipment." She taps her visor knowingly, which is equipped with a scanning sensor. "I was sent to track down the source of the problem and rectify it, since suspicions had arisen that the issues were potentially insider terrorist activity."

Her visor locks onto the exposed wires.

"... Perhaps you'd like to explain yourself."

Re: Scenario 4

[cheaptricks]

He made a mental note of the suit she was wearing-- it was impressive. The systems in the lab were still pretty limited, but he was already having JARVIS get to a quick scan with a small tap on his earpiece as he got back to work.

"Uh yeah, your power systems are kind of ancient. Points for consolidating generator power in a smaller area, but you're hardly even pushing proper energy efficiency. I'm still working on getting a proper reactor built, but I guess that's a pretty good gauge for how much power we're gonna need to put out."

That...was totally explaining himself. Yes. He looked up from the tangle of wires and said the next part with an almost curious tone. "To be honest it's, actually probably your fault for not putting government facilities on a proper backup line if it's so vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Now that's just irresponsible."

[screwattack]

"If you have any issues regarding the power systems, take it up with the ones who own the building. You're a guest here, you don't have control of these facilities. If you have complaints regarding the way things are being run, taking it up with a contracted mercenary isn't the most effective way to deal with them."

Samus decides to move further into the room, approaching the tangled mess of wires for a better look.

"Speaking of which, you have yet to provide any proof of your intentions. You do realize you are facing serious accusations, correct? You aren't convincing me that your motives aren't malicious at the moment."

The only reason she isn't aiming her cannon at him right now is because he... at least appears mostly defenseless.

[cheaptricks]

He lifted both of his hands away from the wires in order to look at the intruder with an incredulous shrug of his shoulders. "Hey, what did I just say? Delicate equipment here, you're gonna stomp all over my microcircuits, come on commando."

Despite her vaguely-threats and the pressing issue, he was pretty much more worried about the equipment in the lab than any arrest charges. He did lower her arms and not go back to his circuitry in order to continue the conversation more up-front, but his attitude was still pretty cavalier about the whole 'problem.' "Are you always so stuffy? I thought mercenaries would be more fun than an Army Colonel.

If you must know, I'm giving the lab an upgrade-- like I said, the power systems can't generate enough to sustain the kind of work you wanna do here, and the internal wiring looks like it's from the 1980s. Any longer and they'll probably fry themselves out. I took the liberty of upgrading the security databases and operating systems for the place while I'm at."

[screwattack]

Samus could care less about the insults to her military approach and just continues walking through his lab towards the exposed wires on the wall. She wasn't a stranger to walking through delicate laboratories, and despite this one being a mess, she wasn't carelessly breaking through all of the equipment like he seemed to imply she was.

"Are you a mechanic or an engineer? You seem to be confused about where you are. Advanced technology, including upgraded programs and equipment, lies in the Cancer district. If you're so keen on upgrading this laboratory's equipment, then get yourself a job fixing up the place."

The hunter passes Tony and kneels down besides the bundles of wires, placing one hand on the wall and tilting her head to look up into it. She reaches onto her helmet and flicks on a flashlight...

Where he'd already been doing work, he clearly had improved the circuitry... Nothing remained destroyed. So it really had been arrogant recklessness after all.

"... What exactly are you using these facilities for?"

[cheaptricks]

"Both." He answered promptly in a very matter-of -fact-- and, very arrogant-- tone of voice. "Plus expertise in thermonuclear and generalized physics, a dabbling in nuclear chemistry, and the leading name in clean energy mechanics and computer hardware and software development."

Of course he was well aware that she wasn't stomping around the place, despite her equipment, but that certainly wouldn't stop him from being an overprotective diva when it came to his research and technology. He started up when she got near the wires he had currently been tinkering with, but had to withdraw with nothing more than a displeased breath of air in fear of rustling any of the new build.

"Honestly your Cancer place could use some work," Yeah, he's already seen it. It was very messy. "But I'm more in the R&D side of things. A state of the art lab needs state of the art equipment. With enough work, I can probably make this place do anything."

[screwattack]

"I'm sorry to hear your genius doesn't extend to curing rare diseases." The offhand comment was definitely meant to sound sarcastic, though part of her tone made it sound as though she really was sorry about it. Huh.

Anyway, satisfied with her inspection, and finished scanning the wiring, Samus withdraws from the wall and stands upright. It didn't seem like she was finished, however, and gets to work scanning the rest of the room's equipment, moving around slowly to get in every detail.

"What exactly does 'anything' entail? I'd like to know what your long-term goals are." And Samus actually sounded genuinely curious to know. This man sounded at least as capable as Brainstorm, perhaps even moreso, and if that were the case... he could be dangerous even if his intents were benevolent.

[cheaptricks]

Whether it was supposed to be a joke or genuine, he let out a smirk that at least indicated he thought it was amusing. It was certainly amusing to him.

(Though maybe with enough radiation study he could cure cancer-- he'd have to talk to Banner more about that.)

"Like I said-- I can do anything." Ego? Maybe. But there was a touch of that new scientific excitement that he hadn't quite indulged in lately.

"First-- I'm gonna upgrade your hardware. Can't get anything done without the right tools. Adapt this place to match the latest Stark Tech-- I could even super-reinforce that barrier above the sky. Or find a way to disrupt it if I wanted to. Launch a satellite, trace your terrorist cell activity, you name it."

Even hack those government info files.

[screwattack]

"I may work for the government under contract, but I'm not a part of them. I work freelance." Samus seems to have taken note of Tony consistently referring to the government's equipment and agenda as being her own. Still, she doesn't seem to really care, she was merely clarifying.

"I'm now aware of what you're capable of, but not what you're planning. Are you trying to help this city or are you threatening it?"

The hunter moves over to one of the computers, scan visor locking onto the screen as she presses several keys, apparently attempting to access the data.

[cheaptricks]

Tony seemed to freely ignore whatever Samus had said at first, probably because he didn't really care. Instead, he just got up from where he was working (actually he probably made more noise than Samus did when he did this), to rush over to her with a hand extended.

"Hey, look, if you wanna hack a government mainframe, can you not do it while the software's installing? JARVIS has all the lab data on ice while the OS installs and I fix up the circuitry, which you're kind of making it difficult to do right now."

OK his patience was starting to get run a little thin. This is exactly why he was installing a better security protocol.

"JARVIS, can the computer access, will ya," He seemed to say to midair, and with a very robotic 'Yes, sir,' the computer started to lock up. There wasn't much to see besides a download screen anyway, it seemed.

There. Now he could answer her question.

"Honestly sweet cheeks, I'm not interested in your-- politics." He rubbed his brow, as apparently the very thought was very annoying, or very boring. Probably the latter. "Too much bureaucracy and ass clowns with committees."

[screwattack]

Samus looks at him, pausing, before pulling away from the keyboard and glancing up towards the ceiling, where the AI's voice seemed to be coming from. Well then, they weren't entirely alone in this room after all. Why did she get the feeling that the AI- JARVIS, was it?- was entirely more cooperative than the one who actually built it?

She turns towards Tony, putting her hand on her hip and brandishing her cannon. Her voice grows somewhat dark.

"The question wasn't regarding your stance on this city's politics. Frankly I could care less about politics myself. They've always been messy and sometimes even far too restrictive, despite any good intentions."

She tilts her helmet down, towering over him.

"I uphold justice. I protect innocent lives from the menace of those who wish to devastate or otherwise exploit them. This was always true in my universe, and it's a philosophy I've carried into this one. My question to you, Stark, is whether or not you'll choose to make an enemy out of me."

[cheaptricks]

Justice? Good lord, this chick sounded like Steve or something.

Nevertheless, Tony Stark was certainly not one to back down, even with someone in a mechanical suit towering a fair height over him. He was just as self-assured as he's been the whole time.

"Look, I'm something of a-- superhero, back home." Hey, the media said it, not him! "I protect people. I plan, on protecting people. That whole 'exploiting' thing-- that isn't me. The advances we make are advances for humanity and world peace. Simple as that. You have a problem with it, that's all you."

[screwattack]

Except far less American.

She honestly isn't aware of how cheesy her spiel about justice could come off to some, it's something she takes with the utmost seriousness. Justice is more than just 'catching the bad guy', it involves making the bad guy pay for his crimes...

Justice, to her, is nearly synonymous with revenge.

"Superhero...?" He said that as though Samus was supposed to know what that meant. And she honestly couldn't tell if it was the difference in universes, time periods, or just her general lack of knowledge regarding Earth culture that caused the block in translation.

Well, she could at least guess what it meant.

"... Then we shouldn't have a problem. There are many soldiers in this city preparing for war right now... War with demons, war with things people have referred to as gods. The fewer enemies I have in this place, the easier it is for me to perform my own job. I'm sure you'll agree."

[cheaptricks]

Well if she repainted her suit he'd have to make fun of it.

He apparently interpreted her confusion at the world 'superhero' as being, 'wow this guy is really a superhero?' instead of 'what the hell is a superhero,' and as such, failed to completely address that part. Or address it at all.

"Sorry, but I'm no soldier."

Aside from that though-- as apparently he had her approval-- he simply stared at her a moment before patting her on the arm and moving past her to go back to the cluster of wires he had been tangled in as if nothing at all had happened.

"You ought'a loosen up a bit you know. I knew a guy like you-- he lost his eye in some...space pirate attack I guess."

[screwattack]

Of course you would, Tony.

Samus is a little put off by his casual demeanor, patting her as though they were on good terms here. She was still suspicious of him, though she was drawing conclusions that for the time being, this Stark character seemed to pose little threat... to innocents.

She tenses up at the mention of space pirates, however, and tightens her hand into a fist by her side, looking off to the side.

"... Stark, I request that you don't joke about matters you seem to be less than aware of." Samus severely doubted he was talking about the Space Pirates of her universe, but as he said, he was no soldier... There were some topics you didn't take lightly, and great sacrifices in battles was one of them. The mention of 'space pirates' was an unfortunate coincidence that just made the matter taste all the more bitter.

[cheaptricks]

Sorry, he only came in cavalier genius, smug philanthropist, or sarcastic crime-fighter.

He turned back to give her a look of-- something like interest, but a bit more dry. "What, did I hit a nerve? You're not an alien, are you?"

He was pretty much over Aliens for this lifetime. "I'm just saying the guy had an eyepatch. Kind of awkward, actually."

[screwattack]

"We all carry scars from battle. Whether it's losing an eye or losing several comrades in combat, it isn't to be taken lightly. And I'm afraid you'll be hard pressed to find many of those in this city with whom you share a species..."

Not exactly a yes or no to that one. She wasn't entirely sure of his definition of 'alien', anyway. What would born human but genetically modified with alien DNA even qualify as? And even if she was still entirely human, she hadn't been born on Earth.

Samus puts her fist on her hip and just shakes her head. "It would be wiser to ask me to lighten up when I'm not on duty, Stark."