graveyardsmash | TEST DRIVE MEME

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test drive

TEST DRIVE MEME

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah - well, you don't remember a lot of things, No Face.

[Yep. Good job with the whole amnesiac thing, Samhaine. At least she sounds amused?
But she does look over her shoulder at him for a moment as they walk.]

... But I don't remember anything about a surprise trip, either.
I'd say, y'know, maybe we've been kidnapped - lots of guys try to do that to me, right? But...
Why would they just throw us to the side?

[After offering that confusing and possibly upsetting possibility, she looks straight ahead once more.]

If it's because they think I'm not worth a high ransom, I'll be seriously annoyed.
Like, I'm worth at least a sweet million! Don't you think?

[Siouxsie that is not encouraging at all. He also isn't sure what to say to that, so he defaults to nothing at first as they head away from the sand and water, his eyes continuing to scan their surroundings for any hints of some familiarity, only to come up with a whole lot of...nothing, really.]

No. We would have known if we were kidnapped. Something else has happened.

[Could a kidnapper give him a face? He doesn't think so.]

Avoiding the question? Really? You could just say you think I'm cheap, you know.

[Said with a huff. C'mon, No Face, be honest with her!
But at that, she shrugs.]

So, what do you think it is? Ghosts? Demons?

Something powerful. Something strong enough to alter the very fabric of the universe.

[Strong enough to give him a whole face, at least. So probably demons.]

So, because they were strong enough to give you a face, they're strong enough to alter the fabric of the universe.
Alright, sure. That makes sense.

[She's being sarcastic. Noticeably.
And she's about to say something else, when she... suddenly slows to a stop, looking at the street ahead of them - finally in town and off the beach.

... There's so many people.]

H-hey, uh...
How about you take the lead from here, No Face?

[Well duh. How else would they be able to make him have a face out of nowhere? You don't just...do that without a whole lot of power to back it up.

...oh. That is a lot of people though, isn't it? And a lot of. Um.

Are those people...?]

...look.

[He points in some direction for Siouxsie to see, and just as he does, a demon strolls from behind a building. Wings, horns, hooves and all.]

[Well fuck. Just the sight of something with wings and horns makes her immediately leap behind him, peering over his shoulder at the demon like it's going to walk right up to them and eat their soul, right then and there.]

Jesus - w-what the hell is that?
What's it doing just... walking around a town like this!?

... Can w-we, uh... take another road or - or something?

[No Monsters. No thank you.
She doesn't want to deal with any other Monsters after Cerealis's face being two inches from her own, or being carried around in a cage by The Wasp Woman. ... And after everything about The Body.]

[There is no other road. And unfortunately for both of them, trying to go the way they came isn't going to happen, either. Samhaine moves to turn, but the second he does he's very nearly running into a Naga slithering past. It's a constant barrage of noise, the creature's very hair being made up of snakes that hiss and stare at Samhaine as she passes them by.

It takes him a moment to even think of a response, because now it's plain that they're not just faced with a single monster.

There are monsters everywhere.]

I...I do not have my sword. I cannot fight them.

Maybe if we don't pay attention to them, they won't... care about us?
Y'know - like playing dead so bandits don't try to kill you for your money!

[Not that. She's done that before. A-ahaha...
She's absolutely clinging to Samhaine at this point, though - tangibly shaking, despite the way she's trying to sound brave.]

There's buildings everywhere - let's just duck in one nearby, and maybe none of them will notice...?

[...]

Stay behind me. Do not look.

[He's almost ordering her, even though his voice is nowhere near the level of commanding it once was. She can probably guess why; she's maskless, she's defenseless. At least he has some sort of chance, if they're attacked or something.

He starts slowly moving forward as he says that, his eyes searching for an abandoned building they can seek refuge in.]

Trust me - I don't even want to look.

[She's got no problem doing exactly what's told of her, staying behind him with her hands on his shoulders - keeping herself hidden from all the monsters around them, hoping Samhaine knows what he's doing...
Then again, he's often a lot smarter than she is in these situations. Case in point - he does not trashtalk the monsters while unarmed.

It's probably not hard to find some kind of empty building, though - while there aren't a lot, there's a few boarded places here or there in the area they're in.]

[That's probably what will save both of their asses, at least for the time being. Samhaine pointedly keeps his attention forward while keeping one eye on all of the monsters milling about at all times. If any one of them tries to approach or speak to him, he just ignores them entirely and keeps on moving with Siouxsie koala'd to his back.

Soon enough, they come across an abandoned building with boarded up windows, a sure sanctuary in the hell they've suddenly found themselves in. Without a word, Samhaine ducks into the side alley before shouldering his way through the dilapidated door.]

[Even once they're inside the building, Siouxsie's still attached to his back like she's been glued there - her face buried in his shirt to keep it hidden from any would-be soul stealers or face eaters or... whatever the hell those things are.

It's not until he stops that she finally chances a look over his shoulder, breathing out an audible sigh of relief at the sight of a darkened, empty, boarded up building - no one but her and Samhaine to worry about. No monsters.
As far as they know, anyway.

But she pulls away finally, crossing her arms in front of her stomach like she hadn't been scared at all, before giving the empty building a look over.]

... Wow. Some place you found, No Face. Smells like dust and death.
Kinda like home, actually!

[Samhaine says nothing for a moment, looking silently out the cracks in one of the boarded up windows. He can see the monsters out there, so numerous that they are practically teeming. At least in here they seem to be safe, and the monsters haven't tried seeking them out just yet.]

They will not come for us in here.

[He...doesn't know that, but he hopes they won't prove him wrong.]

Yeah, they better not - you'd mess them up for me if they did!
Right, No Face?

[She...

... Doesn't actually believe that. Sorry, Samhaine - but she's only seen you fight monsters one on one.
Dozens at the same time? She's not sure even the Prince of Marionettes can do that.]

... But...
What're we supposed to do now?

[Yeah, that might be a problem. He doesn't have the strength of a monster, and without his sword...he's powerless here.

He turns to face Siouxsie once more, his geta clacking audibly against the cold floor of the building.]

We need to find who is responsible for this. We need to find them, and we need to stop them.

That sounds like a lot of fun.

[/sarcasm]

How are we supposed to do that, anyway?
Wander around, knocking door to door - "Hey, sorry to bother you, but have you seen any all powerful beings capable of growing faces around here lately?"

[... There was supposed to be a gesture there to go with her subtle eye roll - after all, Siouxsie's a very kinetic talker - but her hair isn't... moving.
In fact, it's even kind of flat.
She still hasn't noticed it yet, however.]

If you ask me, we should just leave it to someone else. You did great with the rubber faced loser and that skinless, weeping freak - but what if it's like...
Don't think weirdly about me saying this, got it?

But what if it's a real god or some shit?

[She's the last Puppet to believe in a ~holy creator~, of course; she means more of a higher power, bigger than a Marionette sort of thing.
Something big and scary.
Big, scary, and powerful.]

[If Siouxsie Silen is willing to suggest the influence of "real" gods, then there's definitely a problem, here.]

So we should sit here, waiting for those beasts to find us? You don't have a mask.

[Which is his fault, but.]

Even if I do not fight...staying in one place would be inviting our captors to entertain themselves with our demise.

I'm not saying that. Jeez - you think any Puppet would just willingly walk into their death? Seriously?
I'm just saying... you don't have that Blade of Sorrow, Mr. "Prince of Marionettes".

And while I could probably take any stupid monsters that wanna mess with us - [no] - I'm not sure I wanna waste that much effort, y'know?
I'd get all sweaty and tired.

[Her priorities are clearly correct in this situation. But looking out the window at all those monsters... and not just monsters, either...
After a moment, Siouxsie's expression noticeably tightens, and she quickly walks over to the window - shoving Samhaine to the side (in a warm and friendly manner) so she can get a better look.]

... Something's seriously fucked up around here.
No one out there's wearing any masks, either - but they're clearly not monsters.

[Of course, they're not Puppets either... but Siouxsie's noticed something was off the moment she saw Samhaine on the beach.
Whatever those non-monsters are, they're probably just as vulnerable as the two of them.
But they're maskless.]

[Don't remind him. Not having his sword has made him feel more helpless than he's ever been, even more so than when he'd "died". He doesn't protest or really say anything when she shoves him, simply letting it happen as he staggers just slightly and-

...why? Why did he stagger? Normally, Siouxsie can shove at him all she wants and it'd be like trying to push a wall. And while he is still solid, there's a level of unbalance to this body that he can't really place. The frantic beat of his heart in his chest is distracting, and he's painfully aware of his palms sweating and the moisture in his mouth he shouldn't actually have.

He doesn't like it.

He looks out the window again along with Siouxsie, staring intently at the confused humans milling about.]

What are they?

Fuck if I know! They sure don't look dangerous, at least...

... Actually, they look kinda like whatever you've been turned into, No Face.

[Said as she reaches out to poke the only spot that'd have a visible joint on him - that being his neck.
And there isn't one. No visible joint at all.

But, of course... that action brings her own hand into her line of sight, and her expression immediately grows concerned seeing it - bringing that hand in front of her face to look it over, trying to figure out if she's just... seeing things or something.
But no.

She's got no visible joints, either.]

... What... the hell is this?

[It's your hand, Siouxsie. Congrats on finally meeting it.]

[...you're only just noticing this now, Siouxsie? Why do you think Samhaine was having an existential crisis on the beach?]

It is as I said before. The work of something very powerful...and very dangerous.

[Look, mister - you should know Siouxsie doesn't have the highest sense of bodily integrity among Puppets, it's not hard for her to simply not notice something's off.
But she stands there for a moment, wiggling her fingers... and turns her hand over, expression scrunching up even more.]

So they turn me into whatever the hell those things are, but let me keep my tats. Real thoughtful of whatever's changed us, I guess.

[And then she turns to look out the window again, letting out a small hum of thought - only to start making her way back over to that door, hands on her hips as usual.]

... Stay in here, No Face. I'm gonna go get some answers.

[Nope.

Samhaine moves immediately, putting himself between Siouxsie and the exit.]

If you go out there alone, you may not return.

[Now, Siouxsie is an adult. She can do what she wants. But even Samhaine isn't interested in charging out there just yet, not when he's weaponless and the streets are swarmed with unfamiliar monsters.]

[Well now. She crosses her arms with a little huff at that action of his - of course, he's probably right...
But at the same time, she's got her reasons for this, too.
He's not really the most sociable Puppet around, and considering socializing is what she plans on doing...]

Look. All I wanna do is go chat up some of those little... squishy Puppets and see what they know.
If those monsters aren't hurting them, then something's gotta be up! They aren't even wearing masks!

You can come with me, I guess - but you can't be...

[She makes a gesture to all of him.]

... You. None of your usual looming and scary shit, got it?

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