TEST DRIVE MEME

[rysligmods]

TEST DRIVE MEME

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: The State of the Game Discussion produced a lot of great suggestions and we now have a post for Plot Suggestions and Monster Questions. The NETWORK VOTE results are in and PRIVATE MESSAGING will be added some time in November. Lots of people have asked good questions on the FAQ, so do take a look. You can only app ONE character per round so choose wisely. Reserve and application dates have been announced. Test drive meme threads can be used for your roleplay sample! Sample scenarios: SCENARIO ONE: You've just been released from the hospital in Vandare and no one really seems to know what to do with you. The locals offer polite advice but don't seem to want to spend a lot of time with you. You and the other new arrivals stick out like sore thumbs, so perhaps one will spot you wandering about town. 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. 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.

Comments

ONE; omg.

[selfbegot]

[ people are starting to show up again.

she's been trying not to think too much about it. she's been lucky enough so far, right? not everyone has been changing in the same way. and besides, all she's had to deal with is some hunger and staying inside on foggy days. so maybe it wouldn't be so terrible if one of the girls showed up. at least they'd have-

she knows that voice.

she tries to ignore the way her stomach turns and speaks up, her hesitant voice spilling out- ]

Homura...?

[ it's homura. it has to be. even if her hair's down, and even if she doesn't sound quite the same as before, well- there are a lot of ways to explain that. the heavy feeling in her tummy is getting worse just thinking about them. ]

:>

[antemeridian]

[ homura had been prepared to take this in stride. she's dealt with anomalous timelines before, though admittedly never without the abilities that allowed such to be possible in the first place. regardless it isn't the first time she's woken up not knowing enough. surely, whatever the situation was, she could adjust.

she hears that familiar voice, and her composure fractures.

she can't be here. why is she here? she's supposed to be safe, happy, doing something great; surely whatever this was, madoka couldn't have been swept up in it.

if madoka is here, then the circumstances here are more than they seem. ]

Mado... ka.

[ there's a faint wonder in her voice, something almost like awe and disquiet at once. but both seeing the other girl in front of her, blurred as her vision is, and hearing the name spoken aloud cements the fact. madoka is here.

...circumstances and impossibilities aside, this knowledge grounds her. ]

Are you all right?

[selfbegot]

[ for a moment, madoka falters. this homura... she's so different, from her voice right down to the way that she's looking at her. (and madoka can't help but feel a bit flustered by that; even if it's just that homura's glasses are gone, something about it seems much more intense, much more focused than she's used to.)

but it's only for a moment. after all, even if this homura's been through all that madoka's been through and more, it's still homura, right? ]

Mm. I'm okay.

[ she can't even imagine what all homura's had to go through because of her stupid request. it hurts too much to even think about for too long. the least she can do is reassure her right now. ]

[antemeridian]

[ she allows herself to drink in the sight of madoka's form for a moment longer--she's alive, she's real, she's here--before her heart closes off again and she steels her composure, bringing a hand to the ribbon in her hair in reminder. enough useless sentimentality. if madoka is here, then her purpose is the same as it has always been.

to that end, she closes her eyes and gives madoka a small, acknowledging nod. it isn't anywhere near the ice of that last timeline--but neither is it anything like the girl she'd once been. ]

I see. That's good.

[ madoka looks miserable. timid, concerned, cowed. (even if she'd had time to harden her heart to it, seeing madoka flinch away from her still hurts a little.) even so, she's still caring about others.

something settles in the pit of her stomach. really, she should be happy to see madoka again. she is. but the meeting she'd worked so hard for wasn't supposed to be like this. even if she barely dared to hope, it never would have been like this, never in her imagination. madoka looks awful. homura doesn't know what made her that way. and yet, selfishly, homura is happy anyway. ]

I'm sorry for staring. I wasn't expecting to see you here.

WHOOPS, have had company for three days now in my apartment

[selfbegot]

No- no, it's okay. I guess I should say I wasn't expecting you...

[ sayaka, mami, kyouko... it'd be one thing for them to show up. this place doesn't care about life or death, she's already figured out that much. but homura could only be here for a few reasons, and none of them are things madoka wants to think much about. and that's not even touching on what this place has been doing to everyone...

but, well. she's been doing well enough herself, hasn't she? barely any changes - maybe a little skinnier, maybe a little less well-kept, but that's it. madoka latches onto that hope and tries desperately to keep some sort of happier conversation going. ]

I- I don't think I've ever seen your hair down like this, Homura. [ oh gosh, that wasn't a great start. what if she hurts homura? ] Not that it looks bad! It's really pretty, and- it makes you look really cool. When did you start?

no worries! also whoops sorry for tl;dr introspect all over this thread orz

[antemeridian]

... A little while ago. [ she starts slowly, almost unsurely. even now madoka is putting her first, when homura surely didn't need or deserve the consideration, and homura falters in her resolve. it's nostalgic in a way, painful and cherished both, and homura is reminded of the times many, many worlds ago, when they were friends and before madoka had slipped out of homura's grasp.

... in fact. what madoka is saying aligns more with the madoka of those distant timelines than the embodiment of hope her wish had made her. ] I started wearing it like this after I received these ribbons. But I stopped braiding my hair a while before that.

[ perhaps... coming here affected madoka's memory? if it managed to pull a goddess from her domain, to take a law that existed in any point in time, then maybe-?

then what time? when did madoka remember to?

she wants to apologize, for doubting herself, for doubting madoka's existence, for letting her go through whatever she had here alone. homura should apologize, for being selfish, for not protecting her. but she hasn't the heart to make madoka unhappy, not when the other girl is trying so hard to keep this reunion happy and put on a smile for homura's sake. ...later. later, then, when it wouldn't make madoka's smile vanish. she wants to hold onto this while it lasts.

her expression softens a little, just slightly. ]

Mmm... if you think it looks nice, then I should thank you. After all, you were the one who gave them to me.

omg never apologize for homu being homu. it's why i love her

[selfbegot]

Me...?

[ and just like that, a switch is flipped. the ribbons in homura's hair... they're hers, aren't they? from a different timeline. a madoka that wasn't her - or, well, her but acting differently - gave homura her ribbons.　that's- well, that's kind of weird to think about, but she can't dwell on it now. ]

...mm. [ she smiles as homura's expression softens. it's still not the timid look she's so used to, and maybe that's a good thing, but, well... it's nice to have a reminder that it's still homura she's talking to. ] It does look nice. I must have made a pretty good choice, huh?

[ she's not sure what kind of situation would make her give homura the ribbons. those were a gift from mama, after all. but at least she still has her own back in the apartment... ]

apologies for the delay!

[antemeridian]

I, ah, um. [ uncharacteristically, she stammers that out. ] I can give them back... if you want. I think it was more for safekeeping than anything. [ a safeguard as proof of her memory, perhaps; a reminder of what she fought and had to keep fighting for. what she strove for.

what she'd sought to protect, whether it be a person, a concept, or an ideal. but with madoka here in front of her she wouldn't need them anymore, right? after all, they suited madoka better anyway. she would be lying if she said she hadn't grown somewhat attached to them, but, well, they were never hers to keep to begin with (because madoka had said they would meet again. any other way was just too painful). and ultimately, homura's attachment to them was based off of madoka in the end.

she smiles, very slightly, and absently brushes a lock of hair back. ]

Although, I would probably have to find a hairband to replace them if that's the case... [ add that to the list alongside "a pair of glasses." ]

no worries!! i've been MIA for like a month so

[selfbegot]

No, no! They- it'd be like taking back a gift. [ madoka shakes her head at that, a bit more vigorously than she might have intended. it's a gift she doesn't remember giving, yes, but it's the principle of the thing. ] Besides, I have a pair of them back in the apartment, so...

[ after a moment, she smiles at homura - a real smile, too, not half-there or put on or held back by worries. ]

...you should keep them. They're really cute on you! And besides, this way I don't have to worry about losing mine.

[ she giggles a bit at that. she's not serious, of course - even if she lost hers, she'd probably let homura keep them. (she's not sure homura would allow that, mind you, but she'd do her best.) ]