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

mami tomoe | pmmm, timeline 3 | ota

[sorprese]

ONE
[ the logical conclusion to come to here is that this is the afterlife. after all, when the last thing one remembers is being pierced with an arrow, and the thing containing your soul is shattered.

mami may be one of the best people she knows at Faking It, but this is too much. she wanders, aimlessly, dead-eyed and about as far away from her body as she can get. she'll recognize being talked to, sure, but don't expect her to be the first to speak. those who repress their feelings can only take so much, you know -- everyone has their breaking point.]


TWO
[ mami has been here long enough to gain some sense of her usual composure back. at the very least, she's not panicking after discovering that she's not quite sure which way she came through the forest...

it's times like these where she misses the functionality of her soul gem most. she'd feel so much more secure with one of her pistols in her hand and a ribbon at the ready to restrain whatever could come at her here, and speaking of --

she stops, her hand tightening around a phantom weapon as she hears something new within the sounds of the forest. ]

... Hello?


THREE
[ this would be laughable, if mami were in higher spirits. out of all the things she could be meandering down the path towards becoming, it had to be this, something disgustingly close to the very kind of creature she had fought against becoming back home -- something that feasts on souls, is something to be feared...

the four distinct areas on her head where her horns are beginning to sprout are painful, as are the wounds at the base of her shoulderblades where her leathery wings are doing the same. she is ashamed, and afraid, but in classic mami style she refuses to admit either. she wants to run and hide, never let anyone see her again, rot in the forest alone and go mad...but there is also her ever-present selfish need to be close to others, to nurture them in a way that gives her company.

and so, she stays. she wants to try her best to be there for the others turning, no matter how scrambled she is herself. it's just how things go for her. this is why she's taken it upon herself to try and organize a hunting group, of course. there's that eerily serene smile on her face as she instructs the group she's gathered. ]

...and from what I've learned, I might be wrong, there are those of us that will make the most of the body, and others of the soul.

[ her throat tightens, but she does not let her expression betray her. ]

And so, we'll just --

[ and, whoops, she slips up, her voice cracking as she trails off and simply blanks out. here she is, standing in front of a group of people who she's promised her guidance, and she's balking. ]

one; screams. hi.

[selfbegot]

[ and here she'd thought the hunger had been bad.

the changes had hit hard. and they'd hurt, they'd hurt just as much as she'd thought they would. antlers tearing out of her skull in a day, legs bending and cracking from normal to all wrong, limbs stretching until she could barely move without feeling like there were weights attached... she'd been hoping - selfishly, she knows, she knows it wouldn't be fair for her alone to get out of it - but she'd been hoping so bad-

crackle.

leaves and twigs, just barely to her right. she freezes, turns - how had something gotten so close, she should have smelled them, and they do smell, gunpowder and faint brine and chamomile tea- ]

Mami...?

[ it's only after she croaks out the girl's name that she remembers the look in mami's eyes, and realizes just what a horrible mistake she's made. ]

[sorprese]

[ mami freezes in place, muscles painfully rigid. there's something familiar about the tone of the voice calling to her, one of the last sounds she's heard...it reinforces what she already feels like she knows, at the bottom of her sinking heart. she really is dead. not a witch, at least, she thinks, simply --

when she turns, stiffly, the noise that comes out of her when she registers the creature before her is about as inhuman as the thing is. ]

No -- you -- you don't know me.

[ she takes a step back, shaking her head. ]

Don't haunt me. I was just trying --

[selfbegot]

[ she's been doing so well at avoiding everyone for nearly two days. she's even avoided looking in the water; the more she goes without seeing it, the more she can pretend at least something is normal. maybe she'll get used to the antlers. maybe the long arms will stop feeling freakish. but hearing mami make that sound, seeing mami stumble back and stare - that's enough to show her how wrong she is. ]

I- I'm not-

[ and she reaches out for a moment, the impossible spindle she calls an arm stretching towards mami until she realizes just how awful it must look. this time, it's madoka who takes a step back. her arm drops to her side.

haunt her? ]

I wouldn't haunt you. I'd never. You didn't- you only-

[ her voice breaks into a hiccup, and the tears finally start. madoka backs up a few more steps, tries to run- and her legs bend, backwards and wrong and unlike anything she's ever felt, and just like that she's on the ground and sobbing.

she wraps her arms around her legs, burying her face in her knees and trying as hard as she can to not look at mami. she's not strong enough. she's just not strong enough for this.

then again, she's not sure anyone would be. ]

[sorprese]

[ mami's entire body shudders as the creature reaches for her. too much, too much, too much, she's always been so "good" at handling things or at least pretending to, but there's no reason to now that she's dead ...

she staggers forward this time as madoka drops to curl into herself. it still looks somewhat like her -- she's so confused, her heart and her head hurt but she doesn't want to see her friend crying like this, if it is her friend, a ghost or a demon... ]

No, I --

[ what does she even say here? words are so hard to put together. ]

I don't know what's happening.

[it's an admission of helplessness that she'd never give otherwise. madoka's crying and it makes her hurt even worse...she half-kneels down despite everything in her screaming to get away. ]

Are you really Kaname-san?

[selfbegot]

[ seeing this side of mami isn't helping matters at all. they're both frightened, madoka knows that - mami's got more than enough reason to be - but all she can think of is mami pointing her gun at homura and trying to hold back tears. so when mami kneels by her, and she can see it from the corners of her eyes, can smell the chamomile and ocean water, it's almost too much to handle.

but mami deserves better than this. it's not like she's got any less blood on her hands, right? so she gathers what composure she has and tries to nod, her antlers scraping along the dirt as she does. ]

Mm.

[ it's not much - she's still crying, after all, and she's always been terrible about getting her words together while she's crying.

but mami deserves better than this.

slowly, she lifts her head off the ground. and finally, when she's looking up to mami again - still hiccuping and shaking as she makes eye contact - she speaks. ]

I'm sorry. [ about a lot of things. about what she did back home. that mami's even here in the first place. that mami has to see her like this, some kind of monster. ] I'm so sorry, Mami. I didn't want you to...

[ if she tries to keep talking, she's just going to start sobbing again. so she breaks eye contact, looking back down to the ground and trying to keep her breathing in check. ]

[sorprese]

[ mami's emotions are about as tumultuous as the water that had spat her up. she's scared, confused, sick to her stomach, but the same maternal instinct that has guided her in her teaching of her fellow magical girls is still in play, even with how monstrous madoka has become. she doesn't like to see the other girl sobbing like this.

instead of just crouching, she flat out sits next to the girl, dirt sticking to her saltwater-wet clothes. the look on her face still holds a certain blankness, but she seems to be coming to, somewhat. ]

Are we dead? That...would be the logical conclusion, wouldn't it?

[selfbegot]

[ it takes every bit of willpower madoka has to not startle or run when mami sits next to her. she pushes herself off the ground instead - away from mami, trying as hard as she can to not move to suddenly or scare the other girl - and finally gets herself into a sitting position like the other girl. (it's not like she needs to worry about getting dirty, after all; her clothes are filthy, matted with blood and dirt and grass from the past few days.)

she nods when she's finally up, her oversized antlers cutting paths through the air as she does. ]

It's not that way for everyone else. I've only found a few others...

[sorprese]

I see.

[ well, no, she doesn't, really. she simply sits there for a moment, focusing on regulating her breathing, to bringing herself back to some semblance of "functioning being". ]

...I'm sorry for my reaction. I realize that -- ... it was inappropriate.

[ though, technically, it was probably a pretty damn appropriate reaction, all things considered. "waking up" in a strange environment just after death and seeing one of the few people you considered close to a friend -- who had just killed you! -- as a monstrous creature is rather worthy of shock and panic.

but if this really is still madoka, she deserves better than that sort of mess. she deserves the same love and nurturing mami's always wanted to give her, twisted body or not. ]

Are the others here?

Two!

[poppetstrings]

[Lager woods is always good for hunting, Xion has found. Something to help fill the hungry void that's become her stomach over the recent weeks. And with the fog obscuring most things, it makes it even easier to hunt. Keen eyesight in the dark and even keener hearing help with that, and she's able to more or less sneak up on whatever it is that's making the sounds.

Or would, if it weren't for her awkwardly bent legs that she's still getting used too. The longer limbs of her fog form don't help her either, and in the end, she ends up snapping a twig, no doubt startling whatever it was she was following into bolting. But it doesn't bolt, in fact it talks. Xion lifts her head out of the dense bush she's been apparently stalking the human girl from. Mami will be treated to what anyone of sane mind would call a monster, her head is a skull with antlers, mane extending down her body, turning from a blackish blue to white. Elongated limbs, and fur covering her entire body.

More or less though, her body is hidden behind the dense foliage, leaving her body language a mystery. The skull for her head doesn't exactly have any expression to speak of either.]

Hi.

[sorprese]

[ mami isn't totally clueless as to the eventual fates of the inhabitants here, but that doesn't stop the surge of panic that courses through her when she sets her sights on the boney creature before her. she takes a deep breath, steadying herself -- it's talking to her, which doesn't eliminate the possibility of it wanting her dead, but... ]

...I...ah.

[ how eloquent. she clears her throat, taking a step back. ]

Would you happen to know the way out of the forest?

[ it could just tell her some false directions and lead her into a trap, but it's worth a try. ]

[poppetstrings]

I think so, yeah. But I'm not done in here.

[And unfortunately in her head, her hunger is more important than helping someone out. Even if she knows that's not what she should be doing. She takes a step forward for the other girls step back, pushing away the brush so she can come in closer.]

Did you get lost?

[sorprese]

[ instead of meeting the creature's eyes, mami glances around, not-so-subtly, for something she can wield in self-defense. "not done in here", hm? she feels very foolish for coming in unarmed in the first place. she shakes her head. ]

No, no, I'm quite alright.

[ even though she'd just asked for the way out...damn. that's poor backpedaling. ]

[poppetstrings]

If you're looking for a weapon, it won't really do you any good.

[Mami is rather obvious, with the way she's looking around. Besides, Xion has found that while her antlers are more or less breakable, her head is most certainly not very in anyway.]

Not that you need one anyway. I don't really plan on hurting you. [She'd say "Or anyone else", but that's not really true anymore. She knows what she's done, and what she's capable of doing if the right situation happens.

She more or less doesn't want to hurt anyone though, that much is true. Xion holds up her claws in a little 'I surrender' fashion.]

I don't mind helping, but it just has to wait until I find something to eat.

[sorprese]

[ mami feels some semblance of embarrassed when she's called out on her very obvious searching. she places her hands out in front of herself in a "i don't want any trouble" gesture, giving a half-stifled giggle. ]

I'm very sorry, I just -- ... ah, hopefully you understand.

[ she then inclines her head in apology. ]

I'm still getting used to everything.

[poppetstrings]

It's okay, nothing happened anyway, right? [She's more concerned with the girls safety, especially if she goes around trying to hit random monsters.

.... Then again, it'd probably help to have something to defend herself with, considering recent events.]

If you don't make too much sound you can follow me until I find something to eat.

[sorprese]

[ there's really no other option for mami, even if she's still trying to soothe her jolted nerves. she nods, however, managing a smile. ]

If that would be alright with you...! I appreciate it.

[ and, well, she does, all things aside. hopefully she doesn't have to watch her newfound companion eat her food, though. she's not sure how she'd handle that. ]

one!

[bulwarks]

[The one thing about people who faked happiness is that often it showed in some way. Be in their voice, in the way they spoke to people or their expression. Obviously he's never known this girl while she's acted in such a way, but her reaction to the current circumstances feels more real to him than pretending everything was okay would have done.

That, and the girl walking past him aimlessly reminds him of someone from back home.]

Hey-- [His arm reaches out to steady her, trying to draw her to face him so he can check she is even alive in there.] Are you okay?

[A dumb question really, but at least he's trying to help.]

[sorprese]

[ mami flinches as she's steered to face the stranger, golden eyes wide. it's the sort of subtly "weak" reaction she'd be ashamed to display in her more-right mind, but here she is, afraid, confused, and showing it all. she relaxes minutely when the person she's faced with seems to be human, someone around her age, even.

she mouths something, as if trying to speak, but the words won't come at first. after attempt three or so, sound finally comes out. it's the first thing she can think of: ]

Are we dead?

[bulwarks]

[Despite wanting to urge her on, he actually gives her time to get her words out. He's grown used to waiting enough now that a few extra minutes really aren't a bother. It seems like she needs it anyway.

It's her question that oddly reminds him of his own conversation with another earlier. Considering he doesn't know this girl, it's not like his own situation where he'd seen someone he'd known who had died before him--it probably means she's either that scared of this place it's her own thought about it, or she actually came from death.

His hands move, first rubbing the back of his neck as he glances away, looking at the street.]

Take a look around you. [He pauses, then this time lets his hand drop to her head. It's in a fist, but all he does is give it a gentle tap.] Open your eyes and look for good. Do we look dead?

[sorprese]

[ mami flinches less this time, though the reaction is still present. she does take the other's urging, pausing for a moment to re-observe her surroundings -- and him. her breathing lulls into something less panicked, and she shakes her head. ]

No, it doesn't ... look like what I'd think it would. [ another deep breath. ] But -- I was just ... I don't think you understand.

[ she appreciates his concern, really, but it's so hard to just flat-out say, "yeah, my last memory is being shot through the chest". ]

[bulwarks]

No. [Eren's voice is firm this time and he looks at her intensely.] I don't know what happened to you at where ever you're from, but you're alive now. Don't take it for granted.

[He doesn't tighten his grip, but his voice definitely gets a bit louder.] You're alive here, so don't fuck it up by wandering around aimlessly. Do you have friends or family you need to look for?

[sorprese]

[ there's something in this boy's voice that mami is almost jealous of, somewhere deep down, lost in the fog. a firmness that seems like something genuine. she shakes her head as he raises her voice, then -- stops.

the others. if she'd died and then been brought here, there's nothing saying for sure that she's alone. that realization brings her a notch closer to something resembling lucid. ]

...yes, I do. But I wouldn't know where to start.

[bulwarks]

[He doesn't waver in telling her that either, 100% in belief that she shouldn't let go now she has another shot. Sure, it's probably disorientating as hell, but he kind of understands the burden of waking up after going through a horrible experience. He'd thought it had all been a dream, mind you, but it still happened. Realising that after had been one thing, walking on from it had been another.]

What do they look like?

[sorprese]

Thank you.

[ mami forces that out before anything else. this boy is doing her a favor, truly; there is nothing obliging a stranger to act as a rock for another, but here he is. she shakes her head a bit, as if to clear it, then takes a moment to think. the image of all her comrades is fresh in her mind, it's just a matter of pulling out the words from her still-foggy head. her speech is improving, at least, though it still holds a certain stiffness. ]

They're all younger than me...four of them.

[ she steadies herself, then properly lists them. she uses her first names when they're not here to hear -- god, she misses them already. would it be cruel to hope they are here with her, if this isn't death? ]

Madoka. Pink hair, almost always in pigtails tied with ribbons.

Homura. Long black hair ... sometimes with braids, and red glasses. She has this -- look about her. I don't know how to tell you.

Sayaka. Short blue hair and eyes to match. You can just tell it's her by all the blue.

And then -- Kyoko. Long red hair and she's almost always eating.

[ there. she did it. she managed to hold it together long enough to provide vital information, though they're no the world's most detailed descriptions. she sucks in a breath. ]

If they're here, they're most likely together.