TEST DRIVE MEME

[ryslighelpers]

TEST DRIVE MEME: SEPTEMBER

Welcome to the Ryslig Test Drive Meme! Below are a few prompts to get you started, but you may make up any prompt you desire! Please take a look at the navigation page for rules, setting information, and links to reserves and apps. Have fun!

SCENARIO ONE

You wake up on the beach thoroughly drenched with your mouth full of sand. The salt water causes various cuts and scrapes on your skin to sting and the sand isn't helping. The air is slightly humid, ruining any feeling of refreshment you might have gotten from your dip in the ocean. There are lights in the distance but the unfriendly scent of gunpowder fills the air. If you're lucky, you're alone. If not, you might find yourself staring up into a pair of monstrous eyes or down the barrel of a local's shotgun.

SCENARIO TWO

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 THREE

"Seek us out," the voice whispers in your head, and before you have time to question it you've found yourself in someplace entirely alien. Maybe it's the Fog God's ghostly town of Dyster, where exultant followers dance around bonfires and sing their praises to the skies above. Maybe it's the Fourth God's arcade, with small robots wheeling about amidst the lights and colors of old pinball machines. Only one thing is certain: you are not alone, in this sacred place.

SCENARIO FOUR

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.

Comments

Jasper | Steven Universe

[missionfail]

1)

[Jasper spits sand and water out, reviled by the grit left between her teeth and under her tongue. It's almost obnoxious enough to overwhelm the sensory overload she has coming in her nostrils, but not quite. Mostly because she's not supposed to have nostrils and the sheer fact that she can smell is throwing her world upside-down more than being in a strange location is.

She stays half-prone on the ground, eyes darting back and forth, uncomprehending. She's also gasping for air, something she usually only did when injured as many gems got used to taking in air when speaking although they didn't need it otherwise.

Her whole form is wrong. It had been wrong before, of course, twisted by Earth's corruption, but this is something else entirely. This body doesn't function like a gem body. It functions like...

...a human one.

She'd rather be corrupted.

Jasper cries out in anger, fingers digging into the wet sand as she tries to pull herself upright. She'd be putting on a more violent display if she wasn't still coughing, spitting, and trying to get this whole breathing thing down.]

3)

Who's there? Stop talking to me!!

[Jasper slams her fist into a nearby lamp post. Normally this could destroy the object, but as a human she isn't quite as physically powerful as she'd been as a gem and she's left rubbing the side of her hand. Why does she have to feel everything?

She makes her way through Bavan in a Mood, ignoring the looks she gets as she does.]

3

[shoalful]

You probubbly don't want to listen to 'em anemoneway. Only fins here that persistent are the ones who call themshellves gods.

[Perched on top of a lamppost close to the one that got itself punched is a grey-skinned harpy, tall and wiry and with a large, golden trident in one hand. With the horns on her head and the sharp teeth that show when she gives a thin smile, she doesn't look like she was ever particularly human either.

Slinging the weapon, which is almost as tall as her, over her back and standing up, Meenah looks Jasper up and down through fuchsia glasses.]

You new? Don't look human, but we need more non-humans 'round here. Or ones who were before this place got to 'em.

[missionfail]

[Who even talks like that? Jasper takes a moment to locate the speaker, tilting her head upward and squinting skyward. She has to run the words through her head several times in order to make sense of them since she doesn't get all the sea references.

The last part she gets, though, so that's what she focuses on.]

I'm not human.

[She grits her teeth, defiant about this despite every part of her body that tells her otherwise, from way the smells from the bakery down the street cause her empty stomach to protest to the way her heart pounds in her chest with her frustration.

It doesn't matter how she looks or feels. She's a gem. She's not this weak.]

[shoalful]

[Meenah seems to get the feeling, at least, and though her wry smile remains, her eyes narrow a little. It's a little more calculating, but it's also a little more interested than she was when this was just someone yelling at and punching light posts.]

Didn't think so, but take it from me, you gonna have to at least humour their functions. Weak, squishy weirdos most 'a them might be, but starvin' yourshellf ain't doin' nothin' for you except weakening the body.

[Spreading one of her winged arms in a rather broad gesture, she flicks the talons on them to draw attention there.]

If it matters that much to you, this place don't leave nomoby human for long.

[missionfail]

[The idea of eating causes Jasper to make a face. Consuming human food is giving in to what she is. Worse, when humans eat food it has to pass through their system and later be expelled in the form of worthless, vile-smelling substances. Revolting.]

Then I'll wait until it changes me.

[However unrealistic that is. She has no idea how long humans can go without food, but surely she's strong enough to manage. How long had she heard someone say the time until most of them would transform was? A month? That's thirty days on Earth. It couldn't be too difficult to hold out that long. She could simply rely on the alternative recuperating method where she fell unconscious. It's a waste of time, but lengthening that time would be worth not having to eat.

This is, of course, assuming that she'll become something like a gem again.]

[shoalful]

[Meenah gives a slightly thoughtful look, tipping her head, and though she pinches her lips shut for a moment to hide the pointed teeth, she still seems a little amused. Still a little interested as well, but mostly amused.]

For somemoby so offended aboat bein' human, you don't know much about 'em, huh? "Not long" 'til changin' means a month. Humans take somefin like a week or less to die without water, an' without food ain't much longer. Without both is bassically signin' a death warrant already.

[Trolls obviously needed to eat as well, but she's pretty sure they were a hell of a lot hardier about that sort of thing than humans were. Especially her own blood caste, but they were hardier on just about all fronts than other trolls.]

What are you, anemoneway? You clearly ain't from any planet havin' much to do with humans, but I ain't seen anyfin like you before either.

1

[nacreous]

[sand. wet sand everywhere. in places Pearl did not even know she had. and what is this gasping for air, this coughing? since when had she needed to do that?

she rolls onto her back, staring up at the darkened sky. something doesn't feel right. in fact, a lot of things don't feel right, but she's in too much of daze to really figure out what those things are.

that's when she hears a familiar sound, one that makes her go cold, for some reason. again, weird. she begins pushing herself up to her feet, and that is when she sees Jasper. immediately, she gets to wobbling feet, her hand going to her forehead and...

and. nothing. nothing happens!]

What the... Where's my gem?!

[missionfail]

[That voice causes Jasper's eyes to jerk immediately in Pearl's direction, where they widen upon seeing her. She gathers her legs up under her quickly and forces herself to stand on shaking legs. It isn't an easy task. (Why is her body so heavy?)

She glares at the smaller gem through matted beige hair. Clearly she has something to do with them being here, she and that stunted abomination that is Rose Quartz.]

You.

[It feels like she's said this a lot lately, but she doesn't let that stop her now. Raising a heavy arm, she points a finger at her enemy.]

What did you do?

[nacreous]

Me? [Pearl barks out indignantly, covering her forehead with one hand. she can't let Jasper see that her gem is gone. but where is it? and, if it was broken, why hadn't she gone into healing mode? how was she still here, barely standing?] You're obviously the one behind this... this!

[she uses her free hand to gesture vaguely to the beach around them. it was not a familiar beach, not Beach City]

[missionfail]

This?

[Jasper makes a half-hearted gesture at the beach. She doesn't know about the area - it's not like she memorized every location on Earth. Her change in form is the most important issue.]

Look at me, you little defect. Why would I have--

[She takes a step forward and suddenly she's on her knees again, growling in frustration. Worse, there's something pounding under the flesh of her chest, under the... whatever the inner support structure of a human is called. Bones? The former gem reaches one large hand up to grasp at the front of her uniform as if she might be able to feel what it is.]

[nacreous]

[Pearl takes a step back. well, if she can't summon her weapon, she could at least find something like it. like... this stick? it was long and slender, but it probably couldn't do any real damage. Jasper would probably break it. so she leaves it for now]

I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but I insist you return me back to Beach City immediately! [and give me back my gem, she wants to say. but Pearl is still doesn't want Jasper to find out that she doesn't have it]

-- 1 --

[quietpeacefullife]

[Oh dear, what an uncouth display. He can't help himself but to walk a bit closer, the cats he's collected trailing behind him. He doesn't get too close but he can see it's a hulking form. A woman, maybe.

Her hands must be huge... how repulsive.

A comment about how someone had showed up already transformed crosses his mind but he decides to keep such a comment to himself. He can chuckle about it later with the cats and his girlfriend. He lets his fingers dip into his pocket and brush against said girlfriend's cool skin. She'd find it hilarious.

Yes, the girlfriend is just a hand. Whose currently in his pocket. It's quite alarming, everyone can agree on that, but not all that important. Jasper won't be talking to her. And she of course can't talk back!]

It's usually not a good idea to inhale the water. But that's just my personal take when it comes to breathing and all that. [It's a rude thing to say, he was in the same situation when he showed up in this wretched place. The fog has given him a bit of... a bad personality.]

[missionfail]

I don't need... your advice.

[Jasper doesn't know who this person is, and unless he's about to help her she doesn't rightly care. (She'd claim not to care regardless, but she's lost enough that she might at least accept some information.)

The gem-turned-human isn't as large as she'd normally be, but she's still a big muscular woman all the same. She raises her head to glare at him with yellow eyes. He doesn't seem fully human, in which case she has no idea what he'd be. Corrupted gems don't typically keep the power of speech.

Maybe it's normal for wherever this is.]

What do you want? Did you do this?

[She grits her teeth in anger at the thought.]

[quietpeacefullife]

[He lets out a mild huff of indignation at the statement. He cause this? Not likely.]

I assure you this is the last place I'd want to ever be. I'd rather be home. But unfortunately for you and I, we're stuck here. And if you thought this is bad... well, it only gets worse. I might as well be straight with you. It's obnoxious, finding out what's to come in bits and pieces through vague sources of information. Although, you probably won't believe me. Maybe that's why everyone just let's the inevitable come for all the new people...

[Kira trails off a bit, lost in his own thoughts and the sound of his voice.]

Ah, but I am being a tad bit impolite. Introductions first, don't you think? If we're going to discuss at length how awful this place is, we should know each other's names.

[missionfail]

[Jasper listens to the man at first, but as he keeps going she tunes him out to focus on her own physical issues. He might be offering important information, but right now she doesn't care. There are too many new sensations she has to grow accustomed to, too many parts of herself functioning in ways she's not familiar with, and that makes it even worse. if she doesn't know how this body functions then how is she supposed to know if something is going wrong?

Brushing hair away from her face, she finally pulls herself to her feet where she towers over the blond. Her breaths come heavy and forced because the idea that she'll just perform the act naturally is still strange to her.]

I don't care about your name.

[If he isn't the one who brought her here then he's just background noise.]

Who's in charge?

1

[soft_focus]

[In what some could take as an odd call-back, Jasper seems to 'fortunately' have only one witness.

Some kind of...green, weed-looking alpaca with floppy ears. Completely unphased by the whole display, in fact! And sitting in the water, not that Jasper would likely know that to be odd.

All that likely matters right now is that it's staring. Starrrrriiinnnngg...

(blink)]

[missionfail]

[Unfortunately Jasper hadn't been around to understand that particular call back, so all she sees is a strange animal in the water. She has no love for Earth animals, especially ones that are going to stare at her when she's in this kind of predicament.

Whatever kind of predicament this is. The point is that she's in a bad way and she's not happy about it.

She grabs up a big handful of sand and chucks it in the creature's direction with a growl.]

[blurspot]

[EXCUSE YOU??

That's Rude Jasper. Reira's response is to very quickly open his wings and flap at whatever he can until it stops coming near his face.

If alpaca can frown, he's doing it.] Don't throw things!

[It's Rude. And that's definitely not a normal animal, huh.]

[missionfail]

[It talks. Well isn't that just perfect? Jasper isn't in the mood to deal with flying, talking furry things either. Frankly, she feels like crawling into a corner and dying.]

I'll throw what I want.

[She's allowed to be a little petulant. She's just been turned human.]

What are you supposed to be?

1

[beastlybeauty]

This is all terribly unladylike. Be careful to not compromise your dignity in the confusion.

[A woman that could easily be mistaken for a human stands at the very edge of the beach where sand transitions to grass. She is impeccably dressed (if rather old fashioned), but she has a wide hat and a parasol. She looks like she wears a fluffy fur around her neck and fur bracelets around her wrists. Her ears aren't visible in the fluff of her hair, but that's because she's pinned them back. She gives Jasper a closed-mouth smile, looking perfectly at ease despite the situation.]

Welcome to the Ryslig Peninsula. I assume you have never been here before?

[missionfail]

[Ladylike? Since when has Jasper ever bothered with being ladylike? That's a human concept anyway. She's a brute, it's in her job description. So she'll act like a brute. She glares up at the woman through long wet strands of hair.]

Who are you? Why am I here?

[Technically it's an answer to the woman's question, if not directly. Jasper's the one sprawling on the ground, thus she considers her questions to be the more important ones. Granted, she'd have this attitude no matter what position she was in.]

I'll tear you apart.

[beastlybeauty]

I would be rather amused to watch you try, but that may have to wait until you are in better condition.

[The woman looks entirely unfazed by being threatened by someone significantly bigger than her.]

I would normally insist you consider your manners when speaking to me, but given the circumstances, I supposed I can allow it to slide. [But the circumstances aren't 'you are now in the monster world without warning'. The circumstances are 'you were clearly raised in a barn and have no idea how proper people behave'.] You are here, in short, because a woman more powerful than you or I wanted you to be. A god, they call her. I have never been one for theology, though.

[missionfail]

[This woman seems human enough, and if she's not a gem then Jasper has no reason to believe she wouldn't be able to overpower her with strength alone. She has no idea where she is or what she's about to get into. She only knows that now even her life as a gem has been taken from her, and that angers her beyond reason.

But the comment about a powerful woman does have her attention.]

Gods are a human concept. [This is muttered toward the ground as she gets up onto her knees.] She might be a diamond.

[Not that she's ever heard of the diamonds being able to turn one of their own human, but who knew the true scope of their powers?]

[facet2f5lcut5xg]

[Peridot has been....pretty much in every single way, trying to avoid massive conflict because, once again she is smaller than most and things actually seem to be hurting her. Like her knees. When she'd attempted to scamper away from an oversized four legged mess upon arriving she'd scraped herself up in the process. BUT. That was nothing for the Great and Lovable Peridot. She could handle anything.

....Except the obvious and huge form of Jasper coming up the street.

Considering the last time she'd seen the hulking gem things had gone....badly, Very Badly ( Mostly for Jasper), Peridot was pretty sure that getting shattered was much higher on the list of 'things that were possible and probable' than they had been five minutes ago.

With a shriek that escaped her without her approval, Peridot scrambled behind the nearest object, a lamppost.

.....It was, to her distress, not exactly large enough to even hide one as small as her, and so Peridot immediately threw herself behind a box that seemed to have a giant handle on the front and made a loud metal sound when she crashed into it. She immediately began to babble quietly to herself even if that did basically undo the good of hiding in the first place.]

This is it. This is the end of me! I'm going to be smashed in this tiny little nowhere that isn't even on a map!

[missionfail]

[Even if Jasper hadn't recognized Peridot, her voice (and her shriek) would have given her away. While she's far from pleased with the other gem given their last meeting, she isn't the topmost subject of her ire - she wasn't even before they came here. If anything, being 'poofed' had been a relief and she has bigger fish to fry.

That doesn't mean she's going to leave her alone. Peridot might have joined the crystal gems, but she's still more familiar company than any of the others and is better acquainted with the way Homeworld stands currently.

Ugh. As if she hasn't fallen low enough.]

Stop quivering and get out here. You're an embarrassment.

[Maybe a bit of bullying will make her feel better.]