ＲＹＳＬＩＧ － ＭＯＤＳ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rysligmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
graveyardsmash2014-09-20 12:15 pm
rysligmods) wrote in graveyardsmash2014-09-20 12:15 pm
TEST DRIVE MEME
| 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:
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. |
Kieren Walker | In the Flesh
[Well. This. This is startlingly familiar in all of its unfamiliarity; first, the hospital, the white walls and non-answers and the sheer impossibility of it all -- what are the odds, for something like this to happen two times to the same person? --, so many doctors and Jesus Christ, nobody seems to be the least curious that he's, you know, alive. Human. Living, breathing, blood-in-his-veins human, with no sign whatsoever of his former partially deceased state.
Not that this sudden change in his state of living seems to have had any effect on how people regard him. The doctors seemed to be relieved to get rid of him, and he has even less luck with who he expects are the locals -- gawking at him (just like home, is this how it's going to be for him, forever?), shying away from him. And Kieren? Well, he's basically already so done with this, muttering to himself, not really caring if there's someone nearby to hear him.]
This-- this is. Well. I look like myself, back home, and everyone's flinching back and ready to run. I look-- ["Normal", is what he would have said, even some months ago... but now. Now it's different. There's a huff, and the tone of his voice takes a stab at flat irony but ends up falling closer to hysteria.] I look living, and it's the same thing.
[Well, at least nobody's calling him a rotter, now. Small comforts.]
scenario two
[When you die, come back as a zombie and then get rehabilitated, the fact that you've seen a right number of disturbing things is kind of a given. But this? The trilling laughter that echoes from one direction or another, so much like in that one horror movie Kieren remembers watching, back when he was still, you know, not-gone -- well. Right now, he's fervently wishing he'd never seen that movie.
Besides, his feet hurt, he's out of breath, and he's cold; all three would be amazing if they weren't so annoying. Funny how getting used to being able to feel pain and temperature fluctuations can be so difficult -- funnier, still, that before this, he probably would have given everything to be able to feel them. Now? Now, he feels like laughing, because this is hopeless. To think he used to be quite good at navigating the woods, back home.]
Alright, no, this isn't getting me anywhere. Maybe... maybe I should try that way instead. [Except... it looks almost like there's a shadow moving there, along that path, looking vaguely human-shaped. Taking a fortifying breath, he calls out:]
Hullo? Anyone there?
TWO hello there darling +_+...
That shape that looks so human from far off becomes much larger as it approaches through the darkness, and the humanlike shapes might start appearing, well, far less so. Over-long arms, long, wolflike ears atop its head, and several heads taller than any human ought to be...and is that a tail?
It seems to hesitate for a few moments, hanging back in the shadows.]
... You sound lost.
[The voice is deep, lower and more rumbling than a human voice. By all accounts, it seems to be speaking softly, as if it doesn't want to startle the guy.]
hellooooo there bb
No. This is not happening. He considers running, for a split-second, before the logical part of his mind informs him that he could hardly outrun a creature so much larger than him, and... if anything, his previous experiences have taught him one thing: don't judge a book by its cover. If he doesn't give a monstrous-looking... something a chance, is he any better than all those people back home (Gary, his mind whispers, Gary and Bill Macy and Maxine Martin) who would hate and fear and persecute them just because how they look, because of what happened to them? The answer is an easy one.]
Well, that's... [He coughs, clearing his throat, hoping his voice isn't wavering. Normal, Kieren, normal and unafraid. You can do this.] That's because I sort of am.
no subject
He's only really seen what this form looks like once, but he can understand how someone would be afraid of it. So he's trying to be careful.]
This isn't exactly the place for a midnight stroll, you know.
[There's a note of warning in that rough voice. He's not out for a bite tonight -- but there are plenty of others who are.]
How...long've you been out here?
no subject
... except that clear warning makes him reconsider this immediately. When you've been dead once, when you've seen someone like you come back to life only to be killed immediately after -- well, that certainly makes you see the fragility of human life all the clearer.]
Um. An hour? Two, maybe? [The truth is, it's been difficult to keep track of time, here, with darkness all around him and the woods closing in.]
no subject
Noel looks at him for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then he steps out of the shadows and onto all fours. He has no idea whether it looks more or less intimidating, but at least he doesn't loom over anyone like this. He inclines his head, a signal to follow him.]
C'mon. I'll show you the way out.
no subject
You will? [He can't quite hide that sliver of surprise he feels about all of this... but he nods, because this might be his only chance at getting out of here - and the next encounter might not be this friendly. He even attempts a smile at Noel, the corners of his lips tilting up.]
Thanks. I'd say I can get out by myself, but... that's obviously not happening.
no subject
Yeah. I can tell. Smells like you've been running in circles around here.
[Feel free to tell him to shut up, because he's kind of a cocky jerk sometimes.
Although your choice not to do so would be respected too, because right now, he completely looks like he's capable of eating a person. You know, if he wanted to.After a minute, he turns to look around; he's familiar with the woods, sure, but tracking a way out requires a moment of concentration. South. That much is for sure. Maybe a little ways East, too. He sets off in that direction, and then looks back to make sure Kieren is following.]no subject
Yeah. No shit. [That would be because he was doing exactly that. Every time he tried a different direction, he still ended up right where he started -- he'd think the trees had shifted, or maybe the paths, but that's the kind of thing that happens in movies and this -- whatever this is -- is not a movie. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems in movies.
He'll keep stumbling after Noel, slightly slower and his walk still looking stiff, almost like his joints haven't really got used to actually being functional once more... but keep up he does.]
So, you-- live here? [Here as in the woods, or here as in the city? Who knows.]
no subject
He doesn't answer the question right at first. It's kind of loaded, isn't it? He still doesn't phrase it that way, I live here. But with Hope the way he is currently...well, it's turning into a long-term stay; they can't exactly go back to their world before they find a cure for him.
For both of them, really.]
Usually I prefer the city. [Yeah. That's not enigmatic at all.] But I stay here, sometimes.
[He turns his head to look at Kieren.]
You're new to this place, right? How long have you been here?
no subject
During that pause, Kieren realises that, well, he could have phrased that better, couldn't he? He just-- assumed, really, that this werewolf man was a local, only a slightly friendlier one than those he'd met before. But... if he's like him, fished from the water (and yeah, no, he's trying not to think about that either), then... Jesus, that wasn't really a well-thought question, was it?
He gets as far as opening his mouth to apologize, when he's cut off by Noel speaking.]
Yeah, I am. That obvious, huh? [Well. He certainly wasn't treated like he belonged.] I was discharged this morning. But they didn't say anything. About how long I'd been there.
[He looks down, his brows furrowing as his tone gets quieter.] No one said anything, actually. Everyone I talked to just looked at me like I was--
[The words break off, there, his jaw clenching slightly. Like he was still undead. Like he was something dangerous. Something to be feared. Avoided.]
... like I was something else. [Vague, yes, but he's not going to go into the details here, what'd he even say? "Hello, I'm Kieren, I'm a Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferer, also called a zombie, except I'm somehow alive now, how do you do." Yeah, right.]
no subject
[That response is very familiar, though. He'd gotten a similar treatment...not at first, really, but lately, the entire town was starting to turn a lot less friendly. Noel has been lucky; during the day, his eyes are the only change, and even the fishermen he worked for hadn't mentioned anything. But others...
Well. There are some others that have it worse.
If a wolf could ever look sympathetic, this would be it. That's got to be rough, for a new person. He probably doesn't even know why.]
Like they're afraid of you. Right?
no subject
... Yes. [A nod. Exactly like that. It'd probably be even rougher on him, let's be real, if it wasn't the exact treatment he's so used to getting, back home -- even from his own family, sometimes. Christ, he has no idea how Simon and Amy did it (still do it, in Simon's case) so easily, showing who they are and dealing with everyone's reactions like it doesn't affect them at all.]
They don't- [Know, do they?] I'm... I'm a human, right? I saw my reflection, it was-- [The words come out disjointed, like the beginnings of sentences he doesn't know how to ask, the confusion of the hours past finally bubbling over.]
I have a heartbeat! I can feel the wind, and the cold! I look- I look alive! [I am alive, he wants to say, but putting it in words seems like too much, right now.]
So why are they still-- ? [There's definitely an edge of hysteria, even desperation in the words, before he takes some deep breaths to calm himself down. He looks at Noel, a resolution forming in his mind.]
... You're not afraid of me. [Not a question - a statement.]
no subject
A faint grin flashes over his face at the last observation. Kieren didn't show any fear of him (well, not much, anyway), so it was easy to show the same courtesy.]
No offense, but it's not like you're much of a threat when I'm like this.
[Wolf life. Gotta find some humor in it somewhere. He pauses, though, because Kieren's concerns are valid, and he deserves to at least know why he's getting that treatment.]
Whatever brought us here can do things that shouldn't be possible. Like bringing people back to life. [Among other things. He hesitates, then adds,] ... Listen. There's a reason people here are scared, and it's not exactly because of you. I'm not trying to scare you, but I think you need to know.
[He leaves it there, watching Kieren to get a better gauge of how he's feeling. He'll at least wait until Kieren has braced himself to try explaining anything.]
no subject
His expression grows more serious, though, when he listens to Noel talk -- and with a jolt, he realizes that, fuck, you think he was... dead? Well, technically, he was, but he was alive, too. He swallows, briefly considering setting it right, saying that no, I wasn't dead, or I was, but that was six years ago, but saying that isn't any less difficult now that it was five minutes ago, and so his mouth remains closed, at least on this subject.]
Something brought us here? That's why I was in the water? I guess that's one explanation. [Well, it makes a weird sort of sense -- not like there was much chance of finding any water near his hometown, anyway.
He gives Noel a wry smile.] I've come across a lot of weird shit in my life, I think I can handle whatever you have to say. [Can't be worse than coming back to yourself and being told you've spent the past couple of years eating people's brains...]
no subject
Yeah. That's why.
[He still hesitates for a second, though, because it's already hard enough to talk about all of this. It might be a little easier at sunrise; maybe it'd make more sense then, when he turned back into a hu-- ...back to normal. But sunrise is still a while away, and Kieren is here now. There's not much for it.
He sits back for now, making eye contact as he explains everything.]
It's not just you -- a lot of people have been brought here. I've been here for almost two months. [His eyes lower; has it really been that long?] The locals were fine at first. But after a while, people started...changing.
[He pauses there, thinking carefully about his response. His expression darkens a bit as he does.] The locals are scared of you because they're scared of us. The ones who got here first.
no subject
... It means what he thinks it means, doesn't it? Great. Bloody amazing. Someone remind him how this is his life, again. (Or second life, but, you know.)]
Changing. [He says, flatly.] As in... how you are, now? Cause I'm guessing you weren't like that, before.
[The next set of words are a lot more difficult to force out, the truth of it getting stuck on his throat on the way out, even as he shakes his head minutely, staring at the ground instead of Noel.] It's gonna happen to me too, isn't it? If I stay. That's what you meant by scaring me.
no subject
I was a-- ...I was just. Normal.
[Usually he thinks he still is human, even in this form. But in the dead of night, you can forget. In that way, maybe having this form is a good thing. Plenty of people seem to have forgotten what it's like to be human. Being normal at least some of the time helps him to remember.
His tail swishes from side to side as he speaks. Kieren's taking this well, he thinks, for something that should be impossible and surely is unfair.]
... It could, yeah. You're the first new person I've seen since I got here. But it did happen to all us.
no subject
He worries his lower lip, nodding his head in small, jerky movements as he tries for slow, shallow exhales.]
It "could"? So you-- you're not sure. It might not happen. [But it's a fool's hope, isn't it, just like his previous faith in the doctors, in the treatment center, in the government, to believe they could really be treated like citizens deserving of the same rights. It happened to everyone else... it'll happen to him, too.]
Jesus Christ. I come back, for what? To become a-- [No, not a monster. Monsters are mindless, scary; this person leading him is neither.]
-- like that? Another "creature of the night"? [There's bitter sarcasm in his tone, a huffing laugh escaping his lips even though there's nothing remotely humorous about this entire thing.]
no subject
He'd been wrong about that. It doesn't exactly make it any better.
His expression says a lot, for being so closed off. He's certainly betting it will, especially if he was pulled out of the water too. It leaves a lot of questions for him, too. Why are they bringing new people here, and why now? Why wait this long? There are questions about Kieren, too, but he doesn't seem to be in nearly good enough shape to answer any of them.
A creature of the night. It's oddly appropriate, isn't it?]
Sorry. It's not fair, I know.