graveyardsmash | JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME

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test drive

JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME

TEST DRIVE

Welcome to Ryslig's test drive meme! If you're considering apping here, this is where you can try your characters out in the game's setting. A few things to note:

You can only app ONE character per round so choose wisely.
We now have a Quick Game Facts that simplifies the basic information about the game. Good if you want to see what the game is at a glance!
Ryslig's FAQ is located here, so please take a look if you have questions.

The Reserve date is 01/29.
Test drive meme threads can be used for your roleplay sample!
Players with characters already in the game can earn up to a maximum of 6 coins by replying to potential character threads! You cannot use this to go over the bonus 20 coins per month total, but you can use it to reach that coin total. Same rules as normal bonuses apply.

Sample scenarios:

SCENARIO ONE: So you've just arrived, fresh out of the hospital, and already the natives are trying to get on your good side. Offers of food, shelter and other luxuries in return for hoping you don't eat them. They even have some helpful pamphlets to share with you. "How To Deal With Changes", "Alternatives to Human Flesh", "What to Expect When You're Expecting (to turn into a monster)" are all great pamphlets. There's even some detailing certain monsters, and the changes they go through. Some of these seem to have been passed down from one monster to the next.

Among these however, are some... not so helpful ones. "Bunnyipyips And You", "Axe Thief Axehounds," and "So you're becoming a Fur Bearing Trout" among others. Sometimes they have marks on them from previous people who had them saying they are lies, or pointing out good "jokes."

SCENARIO TWO: You've become hopelessly lost in Lager Woods. Paths don't seem to lead where you remember them leading, and you feel as if you're going around in circles. Childlike giggling can be heard from no direction in particular. Suddenly, you stumble upon another character, who seems to be just as lost as you! Perhaps you can find a way out together. Or maybe they want you for lunch...

SCENARIO THREE: The time has come and you've found yourself becoming a monster. Is the change instant, or gradual? Are you familiar enough with monsters to know what's happening, or is it a complete shock? NOTE: Feel free to pick any monster type for this prompt, but note that you may not get the same one in game.

SCENARIO FOUR:The claws, the fangs, the pangs of hunger - horrible as they all are, it's manageable given enough time and perseverance. Local monster hunters, though, not so much.

Maybe it started with a few wayward glances on the outskirts of town, critical stares and disapproving whispers, or just the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever it was, deserved or entirely unprovoked, you're being hunted: a handful of aggressive, well-armed humans doggedly chase your trail throughout city streets and out into the open, and if you're not careful (if you don't find help soon) you might wind up as the next trophy kill claim on one of those hunter's walls.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

scenario one;
[Waking up somewhere unfamiliar was one thing; not a good thing, mind you, but it was a situation that Cain had dealt with before. That he awoke to humans who seemed concerned with his well-being was a little encouraging, but not much. Any sense of ease he may have felt immediately evaporated when he began asking where on Perlia he was, and was told in return that they weren't. Nor were they in the "Imperium" he asked about right after. That set him on high alert. Despite his surging panic, Cain cheerfully excused himself as soon as was polite. He absolutely noticed that they were happy to see him go.]

[He'd pocketed the pamphlets, assuming that they were nothing more than reading material meant for amusement's sake (not that he generally did much reading), and set about trying to orient himself and calm down. His top priority was to find some form of ally or safe haven, until he could contrive a way back to the Imperium.]

[Aware as he is that he is in a world full of heretics that looked at him with a mixture of fear and pity, it's he isn't surprised when he sees someone who has changed. It's a familiar feeling, but it's still terror. Cain is rooted in place long enough to get spotted—but that doesn't stop him from bolting.]

[Rarely ever does a man charging for "safety" look so effortlessly gallant and important. It's almost like he's not running in terror at all!]

scenario two;
[Getting lost in the woods had definitely not been part of the plan.]

[Then again, Cain had also expected that the forest would make some kind of sense. A path that operated on the simple idea of traversing from Point A to Point B, for example. Even in the best of times, forests are among his least favorite kind of terrain to travel—even if a tree or a bush could give him cover, it also gave others cover, too. He had very little experience with hiding in it compared to deserts and caverns and cities, but a whole lot of experience with things eager and able to kill him.]

[When he hears someone coming, Cain freezes in place, and listens. Holds his breath and really strains to hear. Are they friend or foe? Sneaking up or merely approaching blindly?]

[Cain decides to hedge his bets and hope that they might be of use. He adjusts his posture and expression to express an open and earnest type of kindness. Trustworthy, even, if you're the sort to trust random strangers you meet in a creepy forest.]

Hello! Is someone there?

[Random stranger in creepy forest, meet creepy stranger in random forest. The rustling of plants gets closer, and around the trunk of a large, venerable old tree comes a girl not older than her mid-teens, holding herself with the air of someone used to command despite her age. Her orange skin is highlighted by a healthy spread of sticky red plants and bulbed flowers running across her body and sticking up as her hair, and as she raises a clawed hand in greeting, the roots at her feet and vines trailing from her back dig at the ground, searching for nutrients.

Perhaps most tellingly, she's pretty calm about meeting a random guy in the middle of the forest.]

Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to sound threatening. People get lost around here a bunch around this time of the month, so I figured I'd make sure you were doing okay.

[There's a pause.] Also, hi?

[Despite all that regality in her gait, she doesn't exactly sound like she fits the bill.]

[Cain uses every bit of control he has over himself to not recoil or cringe at the sight of her. If she were human, he could assume someone with this level of familiarity was a hunter or a woodcutter or—well, anything normal. So now he is lost in the woods with a creature he knows absolutely nothing about, except that she looks more like she should be photosynthesizing somewhere. Super.]

[Outwardly, he blinks (despite his best efforts), and then renews his smile. No harm in seeing if this goes somewhere helpful, anyway.]

No need to apologize. I just appreciate that someone is looking out for clumsy oafs like me. [He contrives a sheepish look.] I don't normally get lost in strange forests.

[His efforts work well enough on her, but she keeps her distance anyway, to make things feel a little less risky. Strange forest and strange creature though she might be, his comment gets a laugh out of her. It's not much, from a "monster", but it's something.]

Yeah, it's a pretty common thing here. We've even had people arrive through this forest before, I think. It's not really safe to hang around too long, though - not all monsters are that chill with humans wandering around.

[Her tone takes a more serious angle at that comment, and she gives a fairly telling gesture to the surrounding forest. There is, of course, no shortage of places for a potential ambush.]

[Keeping her in his peripheral vision, Cain tilts his head to glance around—as if he hadn't noticed. He frowns. It's a genuinely honest frown, even if for other reasons than his implied "naivety."]

I see. Fortunately, I wasn't intending on putting down roots, here. [His eyes dart downward briefly.] —sorry, figure of speech.

[That sure was a pun, though it takes a moment for it to twig that it was a double meaning - she's not really used to humour, given what the attitudes in the Fire Kingdom court were like. Still, she's in good humour still, so it's not like she has a problem with it.]

Hey, I haven't been a plant that long anyway. I'd probably be more offended if you made some weird comment about fire.

I'm guessing you're pretty new, if you're out here and still look human.

[Cain's frown deepens. Meanwhile, he is offended, but manages to keep it outwardly diplomatic. He would pat himself on the back for that, given how deeply upsetting and wrong it is to be accused of being anything otherwise.]

[Or the fact that turning into Something Else Entirely is generally a death sentence one way or another in the Imperium.]

I am human.

Edited 2016-01-18 19:57 (UTC)

[Flame Princess' expression drops to something almost sympathetic. She wasn't human before she came here anyway, but she's figured out that turning into something not human can be pretty bad for some of the other people here.]

If you're here, you won't be for long. You've got a month at most before you start turning into something else.

[Her tone is grave enough that it's difficult not to take it seriously - she's seen enough people change that she knows there isn't much to be done about it.]

[He shakes his head immediately—it's willful denial, no matter how serious her tone or the expression on her face.]

[It's either cling to the denial, or risk letting his terror win out over his rational senses. There is no way to run screaming to safety when it's a danger that supposedly comes from within and without.]

I can't accept that.

[No more than he can accept that the one thing he doesn't want to do—die—wouldn't even save him from becoming... well, like her.]

[Her expression remains sympathetic, but hardens a shade. She knows how hard it is to accept the reality of becoming something else, but she's had to do it several times over here. Making it harder on himself isn't something she thinks will help anyone.]

You're not the first to say that. But unless someone finds a cure before the end of the month, you're not going to have much of a choice.

[She's pretty sure at this point he's recognised that - the way he said that sounded more like determination than anything - but maybe he can find his way to the ones trying to find a cure. It'd be something.]

[Cain exhales. He's been too-lucky before, but always on terms and turf he recognized. Even if he's not about to give up and cheerfully start running around the woods calling himself a "monster," he can't deny what she's saying.]

[He rubs the bridge of his nose as he tries to gather himself and resist curling fetal at the root of the biggest nearby tree.]

Point taken, but I'm holding out that hope as long as I can.

[He pushes a strained smile to his lips. More strained than it shows.]

Naive of me, I know, but I'll take what I can get.

[She returns a smile just as strained, but a little more obvious. It's probably not hard to tell this isn't the first time she's exchanged almost these exact words with someone.]

Yeah, I get you. I'm pretty sure all of us hold out hope for a while that things'll be different this time around.

It was probably easier for me to start with because I wasn't human even before I came here, but this place ended up turning me into pretty much the complete opposite of what I was anyway. So I think I'm starting to understand how humans feel about it, too.

[Humans seem to treasure their idea of humanity, so losing that must be just as hard a hit as her losing her fire and everything associated with it.]

[ arrival time - same time every two months. madoka's got a routine for this by now: she finds out where the newcomers are showing up, she asks her usual contacts to see if she can't hitch a ride over, she makes her way over, and either whatever whims the gods have in store for them kick in full or she is able to do her best to get the newcomers up-to-date and safe.

the good news is the gods don't seem to be doing much to anyone this time around. the bad news... well, the bad news has come in the form of the running man she's just locked eyes with. she stares in mute curiosity for a moment - who is this man? why is he running? he doesn't seem frightened - before she remembers just how strong her paralyzing-terror-gaze is and breaks eye contact. ]

I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I really wasn't thinking... [ well, at least he's not running anymore. she looks back to him, careful to keep her gaze focused on his chin or his forehead. ] Am I, um... interrupting something?

[Cain is very proud of himself for not answering in a high-pitched keening wail, and he chalks that up to years of experience with meeting aliens eye-to-eye.]

[It's off-putting enough that she talks and dresses so normal. But when they made eye-contact...]

[He still has chills running down his spine as he coughs and plays it off. He tugs his coat straight. It's straight enough, but at least it's more dignified than cowering. Not that dignity is the important thing, here. Which is why he gives her an apologetic grin, and chuckles as if at his own reaction rather than to bury the terror where it belongs.]

Don't worry about it. I- thought I heard someone shouting over in this direction, and ran to check on them.

[Smooth save, Ciaphas.]

[ oh, he's polite! and even after she made eye contact - that's incredible. honestly, she feels a little worse, knowing she probably just terrified someone this collected with her gaze. so she tries to respond in a similarly kind fashion, laughing sheepishly and moving eye contact just a bit further away from any potential accidents. ]

Ah, really? I haven't heard anyone, but, um- that definitely happens with the new batches, sometimes. [ she ] I'm really sorry about the eye contact - I try to avoid it, but sometimes it just happens, you know?

[ her body language is oddly demure, for a six-foot-something undead deer with wings. her shoulders are drawn inward, trying to shrink herself down where she can, and if there were blood running through her she'd probably be blushing a bit. ]

[Gently.] I'm afraid I don't know.

[He takes his hat off and runs his fingers through his hair, frowning. At least the subject gives him permission to look slightly more away. Not too far away, of course. Despite her posture reading like an embarrassed kid's, he half-expects her to lunge and try to knock his head off. Or worse.]

Seeing as I'm not where I'm supposed to be, in any sense of the word, would that make me part of this- "new batch"?

[ ...ah. so he is a newcomer, then. madoka's smile softens a bit, and she nods - careful as always to avoid moving her antlers too quickly. ]

Mm. This is the town of Vandare, on the Ryslig peninsula. You're... this probably doesn't sound possible, but you've been brought here by the Fog God. This sort of thing happens every two months - people show up on the peninsula, and...

[ she hesitates, brings a finger up to her lips, and stammers out- ] I- I'm really sorry if this is all overwhelming! I, um... I thought you might be from around here already. You looked a lot more used to this than most people, you know?

[Cain exhales slowly, letting a little of his genuine terror show through. Not a lot, of course; but he can't clamp all of it down, and he ends up leaning against a wall nearby for support.]

[At least he manages to look calm and cool about it, despite the actual turmoil brewing beneath the surface.]

I can see why you'd think that; I take it as a compliment. This isn't my first brush with... [Cain gestures vaguely at Madoka.] People who don't quite meet my expectations. Comes with a century of service with the Imperial Guard. You meet a lot of xenos. [And kill scores more of them, but he sees more use and less of himself getting killed by being nice to her. So there's that.]

Really, if anything, I wouldn't have expected a god to pick me up and drop me off somewhere so... [He glances at their surroundings, and the people, and then he looks back at Madoka.] Pleasant.

Edited 2016-01-14 03:58 (UTC)

[ "xenos?" the word sounds almost familiar, but she's not really sure what he might mean by that. what she does understand is that he's being quite polite to her given the circumstances, and that he just called this place "pleasant."

which is why she visibly hesitates before she says the next bit. ]

It's, um... I don't know if I'd really call it "pleasant..." [ how is she supposed to address the elephant in the room? he's clearly been around for a while - did he say a century? - so maybe the best thing to do is just get it all out now. ] This place, it- it has a lot of bad to it, too. All of the monsters you see, we- we were arrivals too, once. So...

Edited 2016-01-18 05:48 (UTC)

[Cain automatically opens his mouth to speak, but finds that his brain hasn't caught up with his impulse to carry on a proper conversation. He closes his mouth again.]

[Under the usual Imperial strategy, this place would be bombarded from space to cleanse it of this xenos taint. Not that Cain particularly wants that to happen while he's still on said planet, but he doesn't particularly want to be here in general, either.]

[Which, of course, means that he has to do everything he can to avoid this "taint," as he understands it in his own galaxy's terms.]

[Even despite his shock and creeping terror, he can sound concerned for her.]

What happened?

...it's because of the same god that brought you here. The Fog God. She... we don't really know why she does this. We have a few guesses, but not really anything useful.

[ she's considered asking - tikbalang, or even some of the followers in dyster. but that place... it scares her. it reminds her of some of the terrible things she's done. ]

About a month in, each new group of people changes into- well, um. Monsters. Like me, or the ones you've seen around. [ she hesitates - is this useful information? - before continuing. ] -I've actually, um- I'm actually from the first group to show up! Which means if you have any questions, I can probably do a lot to try and answer them.

[It's a lot harder to breathe, suddenly.]

Are you saying- [As if merely doing the gesture will cause it to be true, Cain raises his finger and points to himself. His hand is trembling.]

I'm going to-...

[Despite everything, he can't quite seem to bring himself to finish that sentence.]

[ oh. oh, no, he's shaking, and given how well composed he's been this whole time, that can't be good. she puts both hands up in the universal symbol for "don't shoot the messenger," trying to salvage what she can of the situation. ]

Y... yes. Unless we figure out how to stop it before then, it'll happen to you too. [ and given how far they've come in a year and a half, she doesn't really think that's very likely. still, no sense in stomping down too hard here, right? ] And- and some people have figured out how to look human again! Even if it's not quite the same...

[Cain sucks in a steadying breath and decides to comb his fingers through his hair. It's one thing to face a threat he can shoot or run from, a threat trying to tear his head off or his soul out— and another entirely to have some deer-headed girl sweetly inform him that his luck has finally dried up.]

[Maybe, in other circumstances, he wouldn't believe her. But it fit with everything so far. The scared looks, the relief of the folks who tended to him when he woke, the pamphlets he barely even glanced at...]

I think- I'm going to need a minute.

[He unceremoniously turns around, takes a half step, and throws up on his boots.]

[ she doesn't move at first, more than willing to let him step away to breathe. it's only when he doubles over and retches that she springs into action - crossing about half the distance between them in a single bound before nervously stopping. ]

Are you okay? [ even without vision on her, it should be easy enough to hear her sudden anxiety - the way she shifts back and forth between her hooves, the odd and high noise at the back of her throat. ] Can I- do you need a bag?

JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME

Ciaphas Cain | Warhammer 40,000

COMES SCREAMING IN HERE BECAUSE WARHAMMER 40K (scenario two)

ALSO SCREAMS BC I'M GLAD UR SCREAMING

I may be heretical iron warrior scum but i can still appreciate quality imperial guardsmen

thank u, heretic, even if Cain himself would not agree with the "quality" part

maybe the quality part is all a heretic ruse

probably. probably everything is a heretic ruse.

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one; CIAPHAS CAIN, VERY FAST RUNER OF THE IMPERIUM

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