graveyardsmash | MARCH TEST DRIVE MEME

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test drive

MARCH 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 MARCH 25th 12:01AM EST.
There is an Enable Me / App this Plz to see what some people are offering or would love to play.
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, and already SOME 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."

Then there's the people who aren't happy to see you at all. Glares and silent, judging stares if you're lucky. Torches and pitchforks attempting to drive you out of the town if you're not. You may need a friend to help you.

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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

If you have any game related questions that you need a quick answer to, let us know! (Make sure to check the FAQ first!)

Edited 2016-03-12 01:01 (UTC)

[ Scenario 2]

[There's no telling how he got here. The young mechanic is still wandering about in a daze, sorely bothering the carefully wrapped multitudinous flesh wounds all about his person. The last thing he recalls is closing his shop and preparing for bed. Then, the hospital and his hasty release. It was far too overwhelming now to try and deal with the citizens who seemed to have collectively decided not to help him.

Wandering down a forest path for a quiet walk seemed a like a good idea when it appeared. But now he's cold, he's afraid, trying to bite back panicked tears. He hasn't felt so small and vulnerable in years. But it's better than being in the town, with the people who wouldn't stop talking to him and their strange insistence that he is no longer human. Perhaps there was something in the air. Perhaps it was getting to him.

With every step he gets more lost. The paths winding away, the landmarks he's tried to memorize, are getting scrambled. He's alone, hunched in on himself, trying to pretend that the chiming children's laughter is all fantasy. This isn't a ghost story, it has to be. But the crunching of leaves, the sound of something's approach growing steadily louder, is certainly not. He tenses, waiting to see who appears.]

Edited 2016-03-12 16:19 (UTC)

Scenario 1

[The time spent in the doctor's office had given him time to heal, but not to research. He had asked questions, but there had never been any satisfactory answers. When he had come out to be greeted with the information, it was a pleasant surprise, though he doesn't know it's fueled by fear. Starting over with nothing on his person hadn't been an appealing concept, but the crowds were generous. Or did it speak more of the frequency in which new people washed up than the people themselves?

Something still felt wrong, he couldn't help but think. He had asked that they run more tests, but nothing had come up. He had good insurance, but that hadn't seemed to matter. When he did make it back home, and he would, he would get a specialist to look him over. It was unusual for him to not be able to pinpoint what it was that was wrong, but he knew something was. Even when he took into account that it may just be being disconnected from everything he knew, it didn't cover it.

With that in the back of his mind, he looks over the pamphlets and begins to wonder if he had really woken up. Monsters? Did they mean the Shinigami? Had pieces of the note somehow fallen into their hands, allowing them to see the Death Gods? But they didn't eat human flesh. He manages to hold in the sigh. Obviously he couldn't make any informed decisions without further research. He didn't plan on being on the island for long, but he did need to prepare for his time there.

How was the world handling itself without Kira? Too much time here could undo everything he had done. That wasn't something he could allow.

Polite as always, he smiles at anyone who approaches, brown eyes sparkling in attention. Those offering pamphlets would be greeted kindly enough ("Thank you. Ah, before you go...") before being pressed for information within them. Those offering food or drink would be further questioned; he needed to accept AN offer, but he couldn't just go to anyone's house.

And then there would be his first monster. That would most certainly get his attention, if not without a bit of shock.]

Scenario 2

[Yagami Light had a great sense of direction. Through memorization and careful navigation, he had never been lost. Japan could be complicated with it's subways, with it's side streets, but he had learned to know where he was going. Even in the woods along the outskirts of the city, he had been fine. He didn't get lost.

Now he was lost.

The trees continued to thicken, even as he was sure he was retracing his steps. When the giggles had first started, he had stopped. While he didn't lack in paranoia, it had never caused him to see or hear things that weren't real. Were there kids lost in the forest as well? While he knew the right thing to do, he couldn't very well be rash. He would find a heavy enough stick, mark his place, and begin to search for those voices instead of calling out.

More and more lost.

A stream, running water, anything that served as a landmark he could follow. The laughter continued to come from around him, and it was growing darker. Despite marking his spot, and being sure of it, he had been unable to find it again. Now, he had to find something more concrete.]

Other

[Light will work to get to know the people outside the clinic, which means he's likely to approach someone who looks as if they know something. Otherwise, you're free to approach him too.]

[All in all, it's very different being in a human body rather than inside a human body. Inside a human body, the air is a warm, pleasant, not unlike a soft blanket or a cozy fire. Good ol' 98.7 has never let Clarence down. Sometimes it would even get warmer, and that was nice, too, even if that meant the human would collapse and whine for a little while, oh boohoo.

In a human body, on the other hand, it's a whole different story. This large, pliant organ takes in all the cold outdoor air and sends signals to long, non-pliant cells that then tell his brain uh oh, you're cold. He develops goosebumps, aka tiny muscles that contract and lift his skin (aka the aforementioned large, pliant organ) because they don't know any better, and he feels an instinct -- a hideous, primal instinct -- to raise his arms and hug his chest.

Come on, he thinks. Seriously?

Clarence stands amongst the newcomers with a glower that rivals all other glowers, his arms folded across his chest. His thin, frail frame is covered in too-large clothes -- gifts from the welcome party to account for his unfortunate nudity.

Although he sits through the first few monster lectures (and pamphlets) with pursed lips, he soon finds himself butting into other conversations. He wears a tight smirk.]

Oh no. There are no substitutes for human flesh. You'd really be missing out.

[Or:]

Do you really believe for one minute she's not going to eat you the moment you turn around?

[Or:]

He's lying. You really can go home if you want it enough. Just kill a witch! Or murder a couple of orphans.

Edited 2016-03-12 02:42 (UTC)

[L returns here often, if only because he realizes he should be aware of any ally or enemy who arrives in Ryslig. Having solved over 1,000 cases means that he's looking at the possibility of running into any number of these, the majority of whom are apprehended criminals who won't be happy to see him if they ever manage to connect a name to his face. Given that at least a couple people have found out his real name, it no longer feels like it's safe to assume he'll live out his days here exclusively as the unassuming and spacey, if clever, Linden Tailor.

He no longer really looks like a human, which makes it difficult to mingle unnoticed. Before, he just appeared to be a corpse warmed-over with slightly sharper canines. Now, however, he's unmistakable for a vampire, with a bat's ears and unwieldy wings that connect his arms with his torso and hang at his sides like a cloak when they're not outstretched. That is usually, and the result is a man who slouches worse than he ever did in life under their weight. What's worse is the compromised use of his hands, which are bound up in the wings' physiology and leave him only with sharp thumb claws to carry out his day to day business.

It makes operating with only two or three delicate grasping fingertips seem devastatingly efficient by comparison.

L is scanning the crowd this evening, not particularly expecting to see any familiar faces; only one has shown up that he recognizes since the December he arrived, and though Mello is significant, the ratio to other arrivals still makes the odds feel slim. He's about to turn and head back when a certain profile catches his eye, one that he worked alongside, slept beside before a time, and, of course, suspected to the point of handcuffing them together.

He approaches slowly, without drawing attention to himself. Once he's revealed, he won't get another chance like this to observe how Light navigates the newness of Ryslig. If he is angry, frightened, desperately willing to bargain to return home, L wants to see it pure and untainted by his presence and the knowledge that he is watching with a mad man's fixation.

Here, far away from the Kira case, that might unfortunately be what he has to call it now. That makes the urge to shadow Light Yagami no less powerful.

Rather than making himself known, he puts himself within Light's peripheral vision, a pale shadow among the deeper casts and forms, watching with eyes that are as dark and glassy as Light remembers. Just maybe slightly more dead, now that L no longer carries a pulse.]

SCENARIO ONE
[To say Yuna was unused to being in another world would be wrong. All of their battles were done in another dimension overlaying their town. Even so, this was different. The other hero club members were with her in those moments. They were always together, even before everything that happened with the Shinju-sama. More so now. It was more than a little weird to be away from her friends, but in true Yuna fashion she's not going to let that get her down.

Instead she's currently holding one of the pamphlets in her hand and making the most uncertain face in existence. Maybe that's to be expected when you're holding "What to expect when you're expecting (to become a monster)" at arm's length. Eventually she laughs it off and shakes the pamphlet in disbelief.]

No way, haha!

[After a moment she notices that someone is nearby and she turns with a perplexed brow and a wide grin. Gesturing to the pamphlet her head tilts just slightly before she has the chance to ask:] Do werewolves really get urges to chase sticks? I wanna see that!

[At least someone is trying to not worry about this, but. As terrible as becoming a monster may be she already has ideas if she has to be one.]

SCENARIO FOUR
[Some weeks later find a tiny girl covered in blood and shaking ever so slightly in pain. Her newly sprouted horns dripping from where they sprout from her forehead, pieces of old skin still clinging to her fur. She's standing all to unsteadily on new limbs, like a newly born calf. Which, for all intents and purposes, she is. In spite of all of it she still seems to be smiling uncertainly at the hunter before her. The smile both cheerful and soothing for as much as she can muster. She raises her hands, waving them wildly as speaks.]

I'm tellin' ya! This isn't anybody else's!

[The hunter doesn't seem to care about rather or not it's the girl's own blood (which it is). Which, why would he have to? She's a monster for as much as the girl tries not to feel like it or doesn't want to believe in the things she'll have to do soon enough.]

I'm a hero! Just watch, I'll protect everyone here like this! Even you.

[She tries to sound more confident even as her voice wavers. The hunter's moving a whistle to his lips and she's not aware of her weaknesses yet to understand to run, but she's still determined to stand there and prove she's good.] H-hey! Not all monsters are bad! Haven't you seen space anime?

[No, Yuna, they haven't.]

WILDCARD: RSDOS
Hey, you! YEAH YOU! READING THIS RIGHT NOW. You know what you need to do? What you've always needed to do? Do ya? Well why aren't you doing it! You should be joining the Ryslig Hero Club right now!

All future heroes can sign up right now!

Let's show them all what we're really made of!

[Scenario 2]

[Being a person who is actually more used to glares and judging, disapproving stares than they probably should be, Karamatsu wasn't immediately put off by the situation he found himself in when he first woke up in this strange place. His life is already weird enough, so that part wasn't really the issue. It was moreso the fact that he had to try and figure out how he was going to live without his parents or his brothers around, which was a feat in and of itself. He's taken to walking to try and clear his head and give himself the opportunity to think, which is why he's found himself in Lager Woods today.

The only sound he hears for a while is the sound of his boots crushing dead leaves underfoot. Maybe someone laughing in the distance, but it's so far off that he's not sure if it's just his imagination or...what. But the walking on its own is good. The fresh air is invigorating and moving makes him feel like he's making some sort of progress, even though he's done literally nothing at all. No surprises there. He even hums a little to himself as he makes his way.

Eventually though, he stops in the middle of the path, staring ahead at a cluster of trees that seems to just go on forever.]

...heh.

[He lifts a hand and pulls his glasses off, tipping his head back as he regards the trees before him with a slight smile, though it looks more like he's staring off into the distance, as if deep in thought.]

I'm lost.

[Scenario 3: Werewolf]

[As good as Karamatsu had always been at making it seem like his confidence never wavered even in the face of adversity (or being blatantly ignored), transforming into a monster seemed to be just enough to throw a wrench into his usual routine. There was nothing you could do to soften the feeling of nails being replaced by sharp claws, teeth elongating into rows and rows of vicious canines, or the hair he worked to keep so perfect turning long, coarse, and beginning to cover the entirety of his body no matter what he did.

But the first full moon was the hardest, he found. The pain was indescribable, so much so that the transformation was a blur yet painfully clear all at once. He could feel his body growing and shifting, bones moving and grinding against each other as they made way for new parts, or parts being replaced by more wolf-like additions. The fur covering his body was pure black, and once his face elongated into a wolf's muzzle and snout, the only thing that could be seen were bright eyes staring out from the darkness of his face. Not yellow eyes, but icy blue to the point of almost seeming white.

Karamatsu huddled behind a building that he'd hoped was vacant, shivering as the last of the changes wracked his body. The moonlight cast long shadows over everything, giving off enough light to allow him to look at his clawed hands-turned-paws, hind legs protruding from what used to be jeans. His black, leather jacket draped over his shoulders and arms in tatters, and all he could do was let out a plaintive moan, the physical pain momentarily forgotten as a new, emotional pain took hold.]

My perfect fashion...

Arrival

[Yuri's made some interesting entrances to other dimensions in the past, but he will give that waking up washed onto a beach and half buried in sand is a new one. With a brief look of puzzlement, he glances around, expression graduating to wary over the next few seconds. This doesn't look like any of the dimensions he's visited so far, and looking back, he finds the last thing he remembers from home is a duel he can't recall having a conclusion.

Fluffy eyebrows drawn together, he glances toward his side.] Starve Venom again...? [But when he reaches back, he can't feel the familiar shape of his duel disk, and it's that which finally prompts him to stand fully, dust his regal purple uniform off, and take stock of things fully. Black boots crunch the sand underfoot as he walks down the beach, and in the low light his general bearing is that of someone you probably don't want to stop to talk to. Or it would be if he wasn't also obviously about fourteen.

Upon meeting any others on the beach, he'll throw up a cold turn of the mouth that isn't anything near what a smile should look like, and give a mocking little bow, hand to his chest and all.]

So sorry to interrupt, but perhaps you could tell me a little more about this place...? [His voice is light and quiet, and there's a constant undertone bordering amusement and condescension.]

Random Monster Encounters

[He's heard a lot about this "Bavan" place so far - how the locals flock to the newcomers and fawn over the monsters until the time comes when the feeding hand is bitten. It's a quaint little city, he'll allow it that, but it's woefully outdated compared to what he's used to, and he finds himself casting some rather incredulous looks at passing features.

That's not really what he's interested in right now, though. He's curious about the monsters themselves, and any one of them unlucky enough to cross his path will likely get a languid little hum of interest and a smirk that's definitely interested, but also not even close to benign.]

Heh, aren't you an interesting little beast? [While he does sound ridiculously belittling, he also sounds genuinely fascinated.]

Scenario Three (Faerie)

[He'd planned not to be out on the streets and so vulnerable when the changes were set to occur, but it's far too boring to lie around inside all day. He's just on his way back when his shoulderblades start itching and prickling in time with each cloud of fog that rolls by, and as he moves down the dimly-lit street, a throbbing, piercing pain starts up on each side of his chest, like old stab wounds.

He makes it to the end of the street before there's a shuddering crack, and he bites down on the agonised sound that rips itself from his throat.

If the pains were like stab wounds, this feeling is like the knives being pulled out, and out and out until he can see another pair of clawed hands and arms pushing out bloody under his normal ones. Skin rips from his back as if flayed apart, crackling and tightening into scaled moth wings as he buckles under the pain, bracing all four hands on the ground and curving forward as the wings push back and out, much longer than what he felt tearing away. As they unfurl into place and the pain starts to ebb, he assumes it's over until hot points of agony flare up at his hairline, and he feels skin split and long, ticklish antennae drag themselves out, two where his hair formed antennae regardless and another two just to the sides of those. Blood dripping down his face and torso, hunched on the ground, he looks like a mess.

But at the sound of anyone approaching, his head comes up, a dissonant, thin smile on his face that seems to pity them more than it does him.]

Mmm, it's awfully rude to watch someone change, isn't it?

[ Normally this is where various humans end up, lost within the forest with no where to go and searching for someone ー anyone to help them. It's always around this time that they start to appear and some monsters are willing to help them and others are only around to torment. When it comes to Yamato, he only wants to do his best so that he can help whoever is having a hard time. It doesn't take him long to follow the sound of sticks breaking nearby, alarming him that someone has to be lost. A person who knows their way wouldn't hesitate to stop, considering the laughter and voices that can be heard from time to time but the way that this one is moving about does tell Yamato that they may be in need of help.

Walking a little closer, the harpy hides his hands into the sleeve of his haori along with his wings and speaks up once he overhears the male's final words. ] Lost? I had a feeling, that normally happens here. You shouldn't allow it to bother you much, I'm sure you're not the only one within this predicament. [ There's a smile on his features as he stares towards the direction that the other is going, a shake of his head as he doesn't believe that's the right way. ]

Do you mind if I help you? Going that way will get you more lost I believe.

One

[ Her eyes are huge, her hair is twisted away from her face and over her shoulder, and her pale dress is already stained from her arrival. Her voice is quiet and she barely seems to exist, a wisp of a thing. She seems small and hardly intimidating.

This is probably why several people have approached her with pamphlets and pages and Namine isn't at all sure what all of them mean but she's managed to pry bits of information from people nearby, those who had handed her the pages or people nearby. Once she'd been handed them, Namine sat down on the edge of a street. She'd been looking over them for a while, humming tunelessly to herself. It's not a song, it's barely even notes that seem to go together. She isn't scared. As far as she's concerned, she isn't capable of it, at least as far as she would admit. But she is concerned. And...wary?

She doesn't know if there is even an exact word for what she's experiencing.

The page in front of her describes fading away to a being of nothing, or becoming something ravenous that could hurt people. The former is something she has always expected for herself and so doesn't sound too bad. The latter sounds- ....It doesn't sound like anything she wants at all. Namine sets the pamphlets down on the curb beside her and tucks her hands under her legs. She has no idea what she's supposed to do.]

Three

[It didn't hurt. That was somehow the most terrifying part of it.

It was a bit like she was fading away, bits of her losing shape, starting with the ends of her hair and her fingers and her toes and sliding up her limbs. Her hair had turned dark at the ends, trailing out at the edges and catching in a wind that didn't exist, and she didn't feel. Her hands and her feet hand done the same, more vague shapes than actual limbs. They held her weight. She could touch. Some of the time they even took enough of a shape to be hands or feet and then they'd slide into the vagueness again. Every few minutes she'd look and it would creep further up her limbs. Thin tendrils of shadow crept up the walls beside her and along the floor like she was trying to hold herself to the world around her.

She hadn't moved since it had crept past her wrists and her ankles, trying to keep her eyes closed and wait for it to take her instead of the slow endless change that she couldn't control.

Namine had been wrong. It had been possible for her to be scared. She was terrified. As much as she'd always assumed she'd fade into nothing, this was a slow sort of thing that felt nothing like she'd ever imagined. Maybe if it hurt, it would've been better. It would've felt more real.

Instead pale eyes that had gone white like searchlights in the dark were clamped shut as Namine tried to hold herself still, hold herself to a shape, to try and stay real. Something.]

[Karin hears the familiar shouting before she sees Yuna. There's a howl rising to her lips--geeze, why was she a werewolf? Wasn't Fuu the one with the dog?--as she runs up behind the hunter.

Other than a new set of fangs, ears, and tail, Karin doesn't seem much different. She doesn't have a sword but she does have a...baseball bat? She drops to an offensive stance.]

Hey, you. Why don't you pick on someone who's far more of a challenge than that idiot?

[Is she distracting them away from Yuna? Of course.]

[The shadows are a good place to watch for newcomers - faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Wary and lost, new arrivals stand out from the regular townspeople like baffled little beacons. Light might have stood out less, if his face wasn't one already deeply ingrained into Mello's memory.

As he watches the man pass by, all he can think of is that for all his success, Near had never been given an opportunity quite like this one. He doesn't know how their final confrontation had ended, though he hopes Light's presence is directly related to his loss. Here, he has the upper hand as well as a certainty they'd all lacked for far too long.

He's also far less subtle than L is. Not content enough simply to watch, the partially altered demon will reach out from the dark with clawed hands in order to pull Light back into it.

And there's a greeting hissed under his breath.] Hello, Kira.

[Click.

It's probably a pretty familiar click. Like a camera shutter! But out in the middle of the woods, for some reason...
Not to mention, it sounds like it came from high up in a tree.
The perpetrator isn't hard to spot, of course - with her bright red hair (and her unfortunate minotaur's mane in the same color) - it'd be impossible to miss her among all the leaves.

She's going to hop down from the branch after a second of frustration, walking over to Karamatsu and holds out what looks like a polaroid photo.]

Here. You made such a stupid looking face, I had to get a shot of it - but these old cameras just aren't a good enough quality for me.

[... The photo's actually not bad at all, despite being kind of grainy and off-color. It perfectly captures Karamatsu's face from a very attractive angle! Somehow!]

[Vanitas hadn't met her personally yet, careful to avoid the newcomer that Roxas had been so excited about, but he'd caught glimpses and at least knew what she looked like. She had seemed so frail the few times he had seen her that he'd just brushed her off as another useless individual, not caring to get to know someone that was just there. That didn't seem to want to exist.

But that's also exactly why he had constantly kept an eye on her; kept track of her and watched over her from afar. She was like him, in a strange sort of way, that much he could feel and he hated it but felt drawn to her all the same.

When the fog had rolled in the arachne had been wandering the streets, forever annoyed at his lack of a more powerful and terrifying form--no fog form for this temporary little ant--skittering about the streets in search of prey. His search brought him face to face with the newly changed Namine and he froze, staring at her with all four eyes as his antenna twitched and a faint hint of a sneer touched his face.

A shade. Just like he had been.

He hesitates where he is before letting out a frustrated noise, moving closer to the girl as his antenna twitch wildly.]

You're going to wear yourself out trying to stay solid, idiot.

Bother? How could I be bothered when I have such a vast, new world as this to explore?

[Karamatsu's smile has yet to fade just yet, and it's honestly a bit surprising how genuine it is. This guy seems actually pretty dang okay with being lost right now, so that's...happening.

Or maybe he's just that far in denial.]

But I certainly wouldn't mind the company.

[After all, he's been alone in this forest with disembodied voices for too long, please help him, Yamato.]

I have some small experience in that capacity. Although my role would perhaps have been better rendered 'sidekick.'

[It hadn't been a flawless acceptance or adaptation, but it had been a week, and L had missed the worst of it. Panicking did nothing to help the situation, and after some time to think and learn, he knew enough to know getting back home would take some work. A lot of the information was hard to accept, and he would be testing it out himself, but the general ideas were the same: they were on some kind of land that was cut off from the rest of the world. Someone had brought him here, since he had been too far into the city for anything else to make sense. Japan was an island, but Light hadn't been standing on a shoreline.

The situation continued to devolve into something more strange, but he had enough of a hold to handle it now. When L sees him, he seems composed, confident as he reads over the information and asks questions to those who approach him. It's in the middle of one of those ridiculous brochures that he sees the silhouette from the corner of his eye. It's striking, even before he sees it in full view.

When he does turn, the shock is enough to cause a reaction. Ryuk had gotten a similar one, but this time he screams less as living with a Death God did prepare one for the more unusual. His brown eyes nonetheless widen, making him look even younger than his rounded face had a tendency to do. One step backward turned into two, but he manages to stop himself before it gets too much further.

He doesn't see L, not at first. Before him stands something that belongs in a horror movie or gothic, supernatural novel. Vampires are a better known 'mythical' creature, but Light was hardly an expert in them. Still, the bat imagery was enough to call the word to mind, if only because he had the literature warning him of monsters. Was this real? The monsters from the brochures really existed? Why was it just standing there watching him? Was he in danger? They were in the middle of the town? Were attacks really that frequent there?

But Light is sharp, and his mind process it much faster than that of the average person. Maybe it's the eyes that give it away. The fixation had been mutual, and he had often been on the other end of those unreadable eyes. While he could guess L's next move well enough, his eyes never gave anything away. They were always so dark, something that would either reflect back at you or bring to mind a nothingness.

That was impossible, though, even beyond the idea of monsters. He had been with L just that night before going to sleep. He most certainly didn't look some kind of human-bat hybrid. Then how was he here? Was he behind this?

No, first and foremost, he had to determine that it was L. While there were enough familiar features to make him think so, he was morphed enough that another possibility wasn't impossible.

He doesn't move closer, but his visage does take on a calmer appearance. His shoulders go back into place, and his eyes take on their familiar shape.]

Ryuzaki?

[As frequent as it is to have new comers arriving here, seeing familiar faces is becoming slightly less frequent. But that tiny girl in white sitting by the street is all too recognizable to Riku, even though he has some very... mixed feelings about her presence here.

And considering her current expression, body posture, everything, those feelings are starting to head into negative territory. More anger and annoyance at her being pulled to this place and having to suffer through what the gods have planned already than anything really.

He'd like to just take her, sweep her away from this place and this town that could very well turn on her within a month, but... there's a lot of hesitance on Riku's end. Naminé doesn't look like she might be coping well and his mere appearance may not help in actually comforting her.

...But he can't leave her alone either. So stepping up to her little spots on quiet paws, wings and tails tucked tightly against his body so he looks smaller than he appears, he kneels down nearby. The least he could do is give her some distance in case this goes south really quickly.]

...Naminé.

[Normally, this girl's appearance may have given him reason to pause. Good reason, mind. But his attention is on one thing and one thing only, and that thing happens to be in her hand.

Either he's too enraptured by the photo to care or he's just blatantly ignoring what she just said, because Karamatsu reaches out and takes the photo at once, holding it up to the light so he can admire it properly.]

Ah! You got my good side! Perfect! Though, all of the sides are good...

[You have just made his day because he's really been having trouble finding a mirror to call his own in this place. Maybe a river will do if he's lucky enough to find one...BUT. This works for now!]

You may take as many as you like, I don't mind! Feel free to keep some for yourself, there is plenty of me to go around~

[ He's here for you, Karamatsu, just stay chill and calm, then all of this will blow over.

...not really. ]

Company? That sounds nice, if you ever need more company, I have a housing filled with people that could keep you company as well. [ He's such a kind and gentle bird, he's also surprised that this human isn't freaking out over some bird like sword man coming near him!!! Honestly, Karamatsu is Yamato's new favorite. ]

So you wish to explore this place, is what you said before? Is there something you'd like to see? Other than the bodies connected to the voices... this forest always does that. [ Try to talk to them, the unaware people so the forest can eat them and they're never seen................... ever again. ]

1
[ The first thing he notices is that he's been taken offline. He can't access the cloud server. He still has all his internal memories, all the messages and recordings that make up his base personality, but nothing more. Then he opens his eyes and realizes he's not in Martha's attic. Which is odd, because he's definitely not meant to leave. If he's somewhere else, though, that means Martha must be somewhere nearby; he can't be far from his administrative user, that's just part of his protocols.

But after hours of searching and scanning (slowly, with his eyes and ears alone), he's beginning to wonder if maybe he is somehow somewhere without Martha. That shouldn't be possible, but then again, he shouldn't be offline either.

Finally, looking worried and pale (well, paler than usual), he approaches a passing stranger. ]

Excuse me, sorry to bother, but I think something's gone wrong. I keep hearing this thumping sound in my ears, which has never happened before. [ Little does he know, it's a heartbeat. ] Can you tell me where I can find a repairman?

3/4 - mer
[ It didn't take long for Ash to learn that with the fog came an exacerbation of the "monster" symptoms plaguing this place. He'd been told it was only a matter of time before he himself changed. (He didn't see how a body that was built, not born, could be affected in the same way, but who was he to argue?) When the time came and he felt an unpleasant itching sensation under his skin, he faced the inevitability with calm acceptance. He wandered alone into the fog, stripped of most of his clothes, and let the changes roll over him. He was fascinated by the way his skin sloughed off, revealing coppery fish scales on his legs, and the way the skin between his fingers stretched out into webbing.

It's only when gill slits form on his neck and chest that he begins to panic. He's obviously an aquatic type; will he not be able to exist on land? Then, when a gang of hunters spot him sitting on the ground and fire their guns through the fog at him, he really begins to worry. ]

Please don't. [ Unsure whether his new scaly legs can support him, he doesn't even try to run, merely pleads with the hunters, face twisted in fear and distress. ] I don't-- I don't want to die...

[... This guy is just "gross" personified, isn't he? Suddenly, she regrets taking that photo.
And she never regrets taking a photo.]

Thanks for the offer, but no. I don't really feel like wasting more film than I already have.

[Seriously, what did she get herself into??]

... Talking like that - especially to a girl - is just horrible, by the way. I mean, what, do you think you're made of gold or something?

[It would take longer to explain than Yamato would probably be willing to listen (especially to Karamatsu, of all people), but he's already experienced some pretty weird things over the course of his life. Nothing that ever happens back home seems to make much sense anyway, but does he let that stop him?

...though, it also helps that Yamato's hands and wings are hidden at the moment, for the most part. But to be honest, he's probably thinking that this is an oddly attractive man. Very...colorful!]

I am well used to living within a full house, so that would be perfect!

[He's effectively homeless right now, which is why he's been wandering the woods, for lack of a better thing to do. The thought of having a house to live in, and possibly other people to help pick up his slack, is too appealing to ignore. It wouldn't be the same as living with his brothers, but it would be better than being alone.

Anything would be better than that.]

Ah, I was wondering about that...I figured it was something common.

[As opposed to what a sane person would think about laughter from nowhere.]

But as far as what I would like to see, I have no limits! Everything there is to offer is there for me, just waiting to be seen!

[That's probably an understatement, really. If you wanted to meet the most painful man alive, well. Here he is.

He's a little disappointed that he's gained and lost the focus of the camera in less than a nanosecond, but alas. Kara turns the photo in his hand, giving it another look before finally looking back over to her.]

Well, I would not go so far as to say that...but I would be lying if I said I was not just as fine as gold! Our worth may not be the same...but our beauty is parallel.

[It's a new town, which brought the unknown, but Light was a confident person, and crowds often brought the idea of safety. There was only so much one could do in front of so many witnesses, and he hasn't yet had time to adjust to a society that allowed monsters to run amok as they wanted. While he can think of many dangers or uncertainties that would stand in his way, he doesn't think they would start yet, at least no more than what he would find on Tokyo.

The Light Mello knows isn't the same one he manages to grab. In the future, when they meet, he's had training, he's better prepared for police work. The Light in his hold has nothing so formal, though he's not without his own athleticism. Tennis has managed to give him impressive reflexes, which would have helped him hold off a normal attack.

Mello is no longer normal.

That doesn't mean Light doesn't try. He's not a doctor, but he knows enough about anatomy to know an elbow in the gut was usually painful. It was only after he tries to land the blow that he realizes the hands aren't human.

In that moment, he realizes the severity of the danger, even before he hears Mello speak. A monster had grabbed him, and fair or not, they didn't have the best reputation. Surely he would have been warned if monsters sat in wait outside of the clinic, though he supposes it's not a bad plan. The people that left would often be weaker than the general population, and those going in would be weaker still.

And then he hears the name. His name. Kira, likely derived from Killer. He hadn't chosen the name, but he now took pride in it. Kira was changing the world, making it into a place better fit for the innocent. He still had a lot to do, which was why he couldn't stay. His plan to defeat L was nearly finished, and then he could go forth unhindered.

While the name doesn't dissolve his panic, it does cause his mind to race. Normally, those smart enough to figure out his real identity weren't people who wanted to simply kill him. Pride was involved deeply enough that proving the truth behind Yagami Light was more important than actually stopping him. But this person was an unknown, at least for now. Had the change altered their voice? He had nothing else to go on.

He might die. He's never tested his strength against a demon, but he doesn't plan to stop his plan of breaking free until he confirms rather or not he has a chance.]

I'm not who you're looking for! [He does start on a verbal defense. Saying as much had never convinced anyone who really believed, but he had to try if it would mean his life. He had no desire to die, but it would also be selfish to die here. The world needed him.

In truth, in that moment, it was fear for his life that had his own heart beating. It was the worry that his time would soon be cut short that had panic rising to his throat.]

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MARCH TEST DRIVE MEME

QUESTIONS

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Light Yagami | Death Note

Penumbra: Black Plague | Clarence | Scenario 1

1

Yuna Yuki | Yuki Yuna is a hero!!!

Karamatsu Matsuno | Osomatsu-san

Yuri | Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

sc. 2!!

Namine | Kingdom Hearts

4

1

2!

THREE

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Wildcard

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...i couldnt wait im sorry - 1

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Ash | Black Mirror

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