graveyardsmash | TEST DRIVE MEME

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TEST DRIVE MEME

TEST DRIVE MEME: MAY

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 of the natives are trying to get on your good side with 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? Feel free to pick any monster type for this prompt, but note that you may not get the same one in game.

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[It may seem like all she wants is to cause chaos, but that's rarely all it is even with the most unstable of individuals. If she'd started bringing in others to turn into monsters then she needed the forces - most likely to contend with this other being of power, this Elias Liewen that Sasuke spoke of with such hatred.

He understands now, at least partially, why his brother must have sided with one deity against the other instead of remaining neutral. He felt violated by Liewen and sought out the best means of acting against him.

Now he's telling the story to Itachi the way he would have when they were children. It's strange to think that, after all these years, Sasuke has so easily fallen back into the position of younger brother, expressing his woes to him just because he's there to listen. If he's asking for validation then Itachi can't give it to him, but at least he's there to hear him.

After all, it seems he's cut himself off from communicating with everyone else.]

... What month is it now?

[Someone else might offer their brother some more sympathy in this situation, and he's sure he will eventually, but right now this is all so sudden he's not yet ready for it.]

[ Itachi has never been the picture of demonstrative. Whatever closeness they'd started to learn around each other here... those memories, at least now, are gone on the elder's side. Sasuke is neither surprised nor put off by the response, given that. Something sour turns in his stomach... but it's not something that he can fix in minutes with anger and press. ]

June.

[ There's no need to say more than that. It's been a solid few months since the pretender to godhood pulled his fucking stunt, and bile taste of it in Sasuke's throat is no less acrid. There are other developments since, though, that are important to note. Especially here. ]

The war between them recently caused new schisms on the peninsula. There are pockets where each of them holds more power than the other in disproportion. Liewen's corruption lingers in the central park of Bavan, where the plants have withered and the animals fled. From reports, the transformed's powers are nullified there, though his followers are immune.

The Fog God's influence covers all of Lager Woods. Her followers are likewise immune, but I've been told the effects include unrecognizable faces, shadows moving regardless of light source, and whispers from nowhere. [ A beat. ] This house is about a half mile inside the edge of those woods. It's apparently unpleasant for a non-follower to find their way in and out without assistance. [ So Percy told him, much to Sasuke's distaste. ]

[So he's been dealing with this frustration for months now, and has lost the means for quick communication for a while. Messenger birds probably aren't a thing here, unless he's trained one up himself.

Itachi listens carefully to all the details his brother gives him. He's unfamiliar with many of those areas, but he won't be for long. He has a location for the house now, as well as important information on what's surrounding it. He has to wonder if their influence is only temporary or if these changes will last as long as the two feud, if not longer.]

And you are a follower of hers.

[It's obvious that he is, so this isn't a question. Nor does he intend to sound judgmental. He doesn't even need to know why Sasuke made that decision, as the answer is laid out in front of him, but he might as well have it confirmed.]

Neutrality offers little benefit here. Liewen and the Fog God each offer their own boons, beyond those of safety in these pockets of claimed territory. [ Sasuke doesn't actually sound defensive, much as he still has that cutting edge of anger in the back of his throat. ] We had discussed mutual infiltration, you and I, when you were last here. [ It's easier now for Sasuke to say you, since Itachi has not rejected the idea. ] The opportunity to do so naturally did not present itself. [ Until. ] I trust neither of them, but I now trust Liewen less.

[If two deities are vying for power then they're going to want to make it look as though neutrality held no benefit, since that would mean less followers for them. He hasn't been here long enough to know much about the way things are run, but he's not sure he believes that it isn't a good option, as it would mean that the gods might have less control.

But he's not going to argue with his brother over it yet. He needs to hear what else the boy has to say, and he's especially interested in hearing what he has supposedly already said. As someone who's done his fair share of infiltration in the past, it's not surprising that the notion would come up again here. He doesn't like the idea of the two of them being under the thrall of the same deity, as that would make it harder for them to keep each other in check, but choosing separate sides could also end in conflict, which isn't much better even if it might be more effective.]

Which would you have me join?

[ Sasuke does not answer immediately. His instinct is to say The Fog God, of course. The idea of his brother in the hands of Liewen brings the taste of burning plastic up into the back of his throat, the memory of stinking ashes fusing to glass on the beach. In the immediate he doesn't think he could possibly stand it. ]

[ Underneath, with breadth and depth so yawning Sasuke feels as though he's teetering on a narrow edge, there is also a fear that Itachi would be unable to visit this house - this, grudging, home - in the Fog of the woods should he allow the other's influence to touch him. ]

[ But the quiet talks they made give him pause. He can feel, acutely, the pull of the Fog God to recruit his brother to Her side, and he wants to, but his fury has also given him a narrow window of complete, emotionless clarity. The Fog God is his allegiance, but She is not his kage, his daimyo. And if She were, what credence has he given such authority figures at any point in his life? ]

[ Soeki - and what a conversation he'll have to have with Soeki later - manages to follow Liewen without, so far, showing a disgusting dedication. And if there's anyone Sasuke trusts to be a double agent, after more than ten years, it's Itachi, unequivocally. ]

[ He turns his palm up again, taking a long look at the crescent that is so familiar and so much not at all, before responding. ]

I'm not going to choose for you. [ After everything, what Sasuke is most against is overbearing influence of others on decisions and paths. ] Choosing the Fog God would give us a united front against Liewen, and a stronger foothold inside the Fog God's trust to overthrow Her as well once he falls. Choosing Liewen would give us both an in, each into the musings and machinations of opposite forces. [ After a not-too-subtle twist of lips: ] Both are intelligent choices.

Either option would also give either deity the means to make use of our familial bonds for the worst.

[Especially given that neither seem to be particularly friendly toward anyone here. To a god, they would all be considered pawns, and who knew how much of a mental hold they could have on them once they pledged allegiance. Playing the double agent also becomes more difficult when they don't know how much these beings know about their lives. He has no doubt that they'd been chosen for specific reasons, and for that to be the case there's no way these gods didn't know anything about them. If he went in saying that he and his brother were enemies that particular deception might be easily proven false.

And if either one did something a god didn't approve of it would be too easy for them to purposefully play them against each other.]

The benefit of neutrality here is a level of freedom that's lost when choosing a side.

[He has to put some trust in his brother now and be willing to listen to what he has to say, but Sasuke wouldn't approve if he didn't start sharing his own thoughts on the matter.]

What were your plans before?

[ Sasuke's mouth forms a line at the sound of freedoms lost. He tries to control the ripple of scales up his arms that brings a five-degree spike in temperature with it. Thinks of bottlecaps and scratched headbands and that low cold vigilance against always being chased even when he's standing still. ]

[ Lets out a slow but not quiet breath through his nose. ]

Before, we agreed that allying with opposite factions would give us the most information.

[ A beat. The next words are yet more bitter, the hollow sound behind them ugly. ]

It would be easy enough for you to tell Liewen you wanted to save me from myself. [ Like everyone else. ]

Edited 2017-06-22 15:55 (UTC)

It would not be easy.

[The correction is calm, but firm. While what Sasuke is suggesting he say is still a way for him to express positive feelings toward him while choosing an opposing side, it doesn't reflect what he really believes and would therefore still cause him to lie through his teeth. It's important that his brother knows that.]

And I would prefer not to go that route if possible.

[Something in his expression softens, and he leans forward.]

Sasuke. I'm afraid I'm not so amazing that I can jump head first into these matters days after getting here. You and I can take a little time to consider things.

[It's obvious that Sasuke has been through a lot, and it pains him to see this.]

[ Something in Sasuke does actually deflate at that. ]

I didn't mean you had to join anything right away.

[ As far as he's concerned, he was just answering Itachi's questions. No one has the power to make him feel singularly childish quite like his brother - he'd just gotten good at quashing the response, back when crushing down his emotions around Itachi was important. ]

[ He considers flat out saying I don't want you to join the "fourth god,"
but Itachi's decisions aren't his choice. ]

[ Something in him pauses. ]

[ ...Fuck that. It can be Itachi's choice to listen to him or not, but fuck it. It's not like anyone gives him the benefit of keeping their opinions to themselves. His hands tighten on the table again, and the quiver of fury returns to his voice. ]

I don't want you to join anyone, especially not Liewen. I know what we talked about, but that was over a year ago. I want Liewen dead first.

Edited 2017-06-24 21:45 (UTC)

[In a situation like this one, if two beings of great power are holding each other at bay, then killing one may merely strengthen the other, and who knows what they'd all be in for at that point. This being said, Sasuke's been through enough and there's a part of him that would be willing to put an end to this "Liewen" if only to give his brother some peace of mind.]

I'm sorry. [The apology is a more polite form than the one Sasuke's used to hearing from him, of only to avoid bad memories.] I didn't mean to upset you. I'm grateful for everything you've provided for me so far.

[Even if he might not be able to manage living in this home. He can try, but the shadows he faces when he walks out of these doors may be easier than the ones he sees while in them. He'll stay if that's what his brother prefers, at least for a little while - until the teen is more reassured.]

Would you like to tell me about something else?

[ Sasuke is no good at this. ]

[ It hadn't occurred to him until now. Before, his own arrival being later, the Itachi that had already been here had been the one to guide him, to explain things. To weather the fury and panic of death and changes and whatever else - to be a rock in a storm and let Sasuke hold on. ]

[ Their positions reversed, Sasuke finds that Itachi is still that rock, weathering the way Sasuke's emotions move without him. He'd been decent enough at stonewalling his own emotions after Oto but he'd never been good at it, had never been able to close himself off the way Itachi seemed to. (Seemed to, that was important, but still.) Sasuke is supposed to be filling a newly displaced Itachi in on the machinations of this fucking peninsula and instead Itachi is the one comforting his upset. The word childish whispers up in his ear again. ]

You don't need to apologize for this conversation.

[ He will not say there's no reason for you to apologize, not even with the way context is supposed to inform that phrase. Not to Itachi. Not ever. But as he told the previous one, it's whether Itachi is apologizing for the right things. - But that, too, is for another conversation. ]

[ A whistle begins low and soft, then rises in pitch and volume. Sasuke goes to take care of the kettle, to busy himself with cup and matcha and sweetener. Makes it the way he'd seen his brother make it while he was here, with what he thinks even a person who likes sweets would deem too much sugar, before bringing the cup and a stirring spoon to the table. ]

[ He does not move his chair around to Itachi's side of the table. He does not reach for his hand or lean against his shoulder. He does not say every inch of I missed you that aches and thumps inside his chest. He does not crawl right into Itachi's lap and tuck his head in at his older brother's collarbones and lament the last ~~ten years~~ ~~two years~~ two or four months, railing and crying and just being niisan and otouto the way they'd been years and years ago. The way they'd started to recapture, slowly, months ago. ]

[ He doesn't. ]

There's a lot to tell you about. Changes, events... things you - or a version of you, I don't know - did while you were here before. People who know us both. [ He wonders if he'll be any better at talking about any of that without turning this into another round of Itachi comforting him while he has a goddamn tantrum. ]

I'll listen to as much as you want to say.

[They don't have to discuss it all now, not if it will be too uncomfortable. Hopefully he won't vanish any time soon and they'll have time to share everything that needs sharing. Perhaps this is time being given to them that they never had, a way to ease some of his previous failures. It's hard to be that positive, though, especially considering he doesn't believe himself deserving of any such thing.

He reaches for the cup as Sasuke brings it over, slowly stirring its contents with the spoon once it's in his hands.]

We can start with the basics.

[He won't tell his brother about how he arrived unless he asks, as telling him he was stuck underground in a maze of bones for nearly three days without food probably won't sit well with him. That's over now, and he's been fed and cleaned up since. As a ninja, it's not as if that's the first time he's been stuck somewhere for a few days without the usually necessities.

With his tea thoroughly stirred, he takes a sip. He pauses before taking another, lips quirked upward slightly. It's... well, it's a little too sweet. Even for him. But Sasuke had tried to take his preferences into consideration, and that's the important thing.]

...Thank you for the tea.

[ Sasuke sees that quirk of lips - he's a gargoyle; he sees everything (and easing into that was nothing after the Sharingan) - and his own mouth twists slightly. He's not entirely sure if Itachi's pleased, or amused at his expense. Struggles with words for a moment. ]

...You're welcome.

[ Maybe one day interactions like this won't be so stunted. He'd barely made progress on that a few months ago, not for lack of trying. ]

Basics. You'll need to eat - to feed on humans - at least once every month or two, or you'll start to lose your sense of self and attack whatever comes across your path. There's no combating that from what I've seen.

The changes themselves come slowly or in fits and spurts. Usually the Fog brings each shift.

[These are all things Itachi has already heard. Much was explained to him by the locals before he even found himself in Dyster. He listens to Sasuke as though it's the first time he's heard any of it. It's still important, as his brother might mention something he doesn't yet know, and hearing it from the other ninja makes it more real somehow.

The idea of feeding on humans still doesn't sit right with him. He doesn't feel like he should be doing anything to prolong his own life. However, the alternative may be worse. One life is better than many, and perhaps he'll be able to be careful with who he chooses to feed on.

It's hard to be positive about any of this. His brother is before him, and that's what he has to focus on.]

This fog... Does it come at specific times?

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TEST DRIVE MEME

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[note that this thread is now game canon with minor adjustments for arrival differences]

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