TEST DRIVE MEME

[ryslighelpers]

TEST DRIVE MEME: JANUARY

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

Riko Sakurauchi | LoveLive! Sunshine!!

[arpeggriko]

1)

[When Riko first comes to in the sand, there's a voice in the back of her head asking her why on earth she'd jump into the ocean in the middle of April like that...that was what happened when she met Chika for the first time, wasn't it? Except that happened what feels like years ago now, and she knows for sure that she wasn't anywhere near the beach last time she checked. Not unless she somehow fell asleep on the shore, and that would never happen.

It takes her a moment to get her bearings as she slowly sits up and brushes sand from her face and arms, wincing at the mild cuts and scrapes on her body. Okay...did she almost drown, because she's soaked too. Other than the cuts she doesn't feel injured anywhere else, but she gives herself a minute before she slowly pushes herself to her feet. The lights up ahead seem promising, but the scent of gunpowder does not, and it leads her to first turn around and look down the beach behind her...

Right where someone else, possibly another newcomer or an actual local, happened to be standing right behind her, resulting in a soft collision that makes her squeak with surprise.]

O-oh, I'm sorry!

3)

[An arcade...it both looks similar to and nothing like any arcade Riko's encountered, especially with the robots moving to and fro. She scarcely gets a chance to even come close before a voice echoes in her head, but her immediate thought is that it must have come from the arcade, not from her own mind.

It causes her to freeze and pull back slightly, wrapping one of her arms around her torso. She stays this way for a moment before taking a hesitant step past the threshold, peering inside where the machines flanking the walls blink the brightest.]

Hello? ...Is someone here?

1

[nandemonai]

[normally, Maki would tell whoever bumped into her to watch where they are going. but she's a bit too shell-shocked to do that right now. she's wondering where the heck she is, and it's scaring her. she's cold and wet. she's on a beach, but it doesn't look like anywhere she's ever been before. was this even Japan?

so when someone bumps into her, another girl, she feels relieved that she's not alone out here. the girl looks about her age, maybe a little older, though Maki is just a hair taller]

Be careful. [she warns, eyes darting to a group of other people not too far away. that's where the gunpowder is coming from. someone just fired a gun at something, but Maki can't see what went on, just that there are people surrounding what might be another person. she's not too keen on figuring out what happened. she starts nudging the girl in the opposite direction, away from the crowd and the guns]

[arpeggriko]

[Riko herself had woken up just after that occurred, but it doesn't mean she's any less concerned. She doesn't really think when Maki starts leading her away, sort of just following along in a daze that hasn't quite cleared since she woke. The fog is still so present, in fact, that she doesn't quite piece together yet that the voice she heard is...familiar, somehow. She can't place it, and she hasn't gotten a good look at her yet to even begin to.

Instead, she focuses on the sound of her shoes in the sand as well as the ocean water lapping up onto the beach to try and calm herself down, though she still can't help but look briefly over her shoulder at the crowd they left behind.]

D-did something happen?

[nandemonai]

I... I think so... Those people were talking about how they found a monster. [the fear is evident in Maki's voice, she almost chokes out the last word. monster. she's not sure what it means, she just knows that they probably don't want to be a part of it.

she continues leading Riko away from the beach, away from the people that have begun yelling now. the fog is so thick that she can't see where she is going. all too soon they come to a wall, so Maki decides to stop. have they gone far enough? well, she can't hear those other people anymore]

Actually, I just woke up here. I'm... I don't know where I am. [maybe the stranger does? then again, Riko's shoulder felt wet, too. so she probably just arrived too]

[arpeggriko]

[Okay...so they're still stuck on the beach, but at least they're safe(?) Relatively safe from whatever was going on back there, anyway. Safe enough for Riko to feel like she can finally turn to properly address her company, reaching down to smooth out her skirt while bringing her other hand up to her chest.]

I did too. I thought...this might be Uchiura, but it-

[...Riko stops talking, suddenly, staring at Maki with wide eyes. She blinks owlishly a few times, but doesn't say anything more.]

[nandemonai]

[it's like you're seeing a ghost real live celebrity, isn't it, Riko? Maki blinks wide eyes back at her, but has no idea why she just stopped mid-sentence]

Uchiura...? [she repeats, resting a hand on her hip. a small seaside town. she has not been there herself, but she knows about it] Is that where you're from?

[arpeggriko]

I-...I-

[She's not really sure how she even feels, herself. Honored? Inadequate? Bewildered beyond all reason? All of those are correct and more, because the moment Maki speaks to her again, she jolts a little and finds herself tongue tied, completely unable to respond.

...then, without warning, she suddenly just...bows at the waist, clutching both hands together at her chest where her heart feels like it's going to pound right out of it, both from excitement and embarrassment.

What is she even doing?

Before Maki can say anything, Riko pops back up with her face flushed and her bangs a little tousled from the movement, one hand quickly reaching up to fuss with and try to fix them.]

M-M...Maki-san! I- ...I never thought- oh-!

[She's just going to die, right here. That's all there is to it.]

[nandemonai]

[well. that's rather forward of Riko. and, at the same time, not forward at all. Maki looks confused by the whole deal, just watching the young woman bow and sputter along]

Um... Do I know you?

[it doesn't occur to her that maybe this girl has seen µ's, though maybe it should? µ's is pretty famous now! and this girl said she was from Uchiura, which is in Japan]

[arpeggriko]

No! I mean...

[Riko shakes her head quickly to try and calm herself. Get a grip, you're making an absolute fool of yourself in front of one of your idols.

She takes a deep breath, holds it for a moment, and then lets it out slowly before dropping her (shaking) hands to clasp them in front of herself.]

I am just...a fan of u's.

[Big fan, big fan.]

I never thought I would get the chance to meet you...it- it's- [An honor? No, too formal, that'd probably make her uncomfortable.] -a pleasure.

[nandemonai]

[ah... now Maki gets it. fans, she's used to fans. she had to be, or else she would be a poor idol. her surprised face eases into a warm smile, despite the circumstances, and she reaches up to twirl a lock of hair. it's kind of embarrassing, but if Maki's learned anything from Honoka and her girls, it was how to be a kinder, somewhat softer person.

she can be polite, since this other girl is being polite]

I see... Well, it's also a pleasure to meet a fan. What is your name?

[arpeggriko]

Sakurauchi Riko.

[The urge to want to bow her head is very much there still, but this time she holds herself back and simply nods instead. Better.]

I apologize...I know this really isn't the place for a meet and greet.

[Right as Riko says that, another gunshot rings out in the distance.]

[nandemonai]

[that, it most certainly is not. Maki winces at the sound, twisting her head back to look in the direction it is coming from]

R-right... We should probably get out of here. [and find people who don't have guns. especially if there are monsters lurking about!]

[arpeggriko]

[Yeah, the fact that there are people shooting on this beach has Riko on edge. And for a moment, she isn't really sure what to...do.

But then she happens to look over, noticing those lights in the distance again while Maki is looking down the beach.]

...there are lights that way. That must be the town. It would be safer there than out here.

[Right...]

[nandemonai]

[ah? Maki turns her head back, looking at where Riko has indicated... squinting, craning her neck. okay, she sees the lights now, too]

Yeah, definitely. Let's hurry. [Maki is about to take off when she considers something. she's in good shape, and could probably move faster than Riko. what if she leaves this girl behind in her dust?

it's kind of lame, but she reaches for Riko's hand] We'll stick together this way. [hopefully that is enough to justify her actions. Maki's also incredibly nervous, but she's doing her best to hide it]

[arpeggriko]

[Oh.

She. Wasn't expecting that? If anything she thought that Maki would just start off toward the lights as soon as she pointed them out. Once again, Riko is stunned into silence, her mouth open without anything actually coming out.

Again, she has to remind herself to speak, as well as breathe.]

U-um...okay.

[Riko only hesitates because she's that taken off guard, but once she sees Maki reaching for her hand, she lets her take it without complaint.

...god, if she ever makes it out of here and can tell Chika about this, she'll either call her a liar or kill her. Maybe both.]

[nandemonai]

[it might be a little silly, holding a stranger's hand. but Maki doesn't want anything bad to happen to either of them, and doing this simply makes her feel more at ease.

she looks around until she finds some steps leading away from the beach. in no time, they are walking down the street toward the lights. Maki's not running, but she's not walking very slow either.

she can't believe this is happening, that she's been transported to some place other than her home. wasn't she just walking home from school? something like that. so how'd she end up here, wet and on the beach? with a fan?]

This has to be a dream.

[arpeggriko]

[At least Maki is taking some initiative, which is something they'd probably benefit from here. And even though Maki's moving at a brisk pace, Riko's keeping up with her well. That's what weeks and weeks of training yourself to become a school idol does for you.]

It sure feels like one.

[She wouldn't be hand-in-hand with Maki Nishikino if it wasn't.]

Do you see anyone else down this way?

[nandemonai]

Not right now. [maybe she hears footsteps, though? or maybe that is just sounds from the town. if only the fog weren't so thick, so she could see around her.

but the lights are getting brighter the closer they get, and sure enough, the outlines of buildings begin to take shape. Maki sighs in relief, slowing her steps. it looks like a big town, bigger than she expected]

[arpeggriko]

[Well, a town is a town no matter where they are. But there's something...particularly unnerving about this one. Maybe it's the fog, maybe its people shooting in the darkness, or maybe even the talk of monsters that...doesn't really make any sense at all.

Mm.]

Maki-san...where do you think we are? This has to be Japan, right?

[nandemonai]

[Maki is silent for a few moments, considering. she is still holding Riko's hand as they enter the town]

I... Don't think so. The styles of the buildings look more western. [well, from what she can see, anyway. Maki's about to say something else when some woman rushes over to them, commenting on how cold and wet they look, and hands them blankets.

well... that's... nice? and what is stuffed inside the blankets? looks like...]

A pamphlet?

1

[bindweed]

[She had been shaking out her wet jacket a little. This was going to be a pain to dry clean later. Ochimizu had other problems but the petty things at least distracted her from bigger issues. Such as where she was and what happened to those girls. When Riko bumps into her, she drops part of the jacket to place a hand on her shoulder. Not for comfort but--]

You should look before you start moving around in a place like this.

[Her voice is gruff yet there's no true venom to them, yet.]

[arpeggriko]

[Oh boy. Riko swallows even though her throat is uncomfortably dry, nodding curtly once.]

Yes, of course.

[She takes a moment to brush more sand off herself, her cheeks burning red with embarrassment from having run into someone like that.]

Um...are you okay?

[bindweed]

[At least she's polite about it. She seizes her up with her jacket hanging over one arm.]

Aside from being here? Yes.

[Her clothes on the other hand... Well. The kid doesn't need to know that.]

[arpeggriko]

That's good. Amd I'm very sorry, I should have been looking where I was going.

[Riko frowns a little, lifting a hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes. It's a miracle her hair pin is still intact, and didn't get lost when she pulled herself out of the water presumably.]

[bindweed]

You should have. [No, that's rude. She eyes the surrounding beach.] You got distracted though, didn't you?