graveyardsmash | Test drive meme: November

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Test drive meme: November

TEST DRIVE MEME: NOVEMBER

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 is making all the cuts and scrapes on your skin 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 on the more informative end of the scale. 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 readers saying they're lies, or pointing out good "jokes."

Then there are 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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1 | A Washed Up Official

[There, laying on the beach, dressed in a now ruined black and red yukata lies a man of some sort. The pointed ears and horn on his head mark his inhuman nature. He feels like shit, and he's just waking up, a truly fearsome combination for this demon.

His eyes begin to clear, head lifting to glare up at the form standing before him with sharp eyes and a clearly displeased scowl, revealing his fanged mouth and red-lined eyes. Whoever it is, they're on the grumpy end of his temper right now, and have only a few seconds to explain themselves.]

2 | The Less Than Friendly Locals

[Confident steps carry Hozuki throughout the town, his resting scowl expression scaring off most of the locals from approaching him alone. He does, however, collect a couple of the more informative looking pamphlets, reading them as he walks. Werewolves, kelpies, trolls, and vampires... Yes, all very well known monsters made up in the mundane world. It seems this place he's arrived in is quite fascinated with them, how curious.

If the pamphlets are to be believed, he'll turn into a monster himself, in a months time. Wouldn't that be ironic, a demon turning into a mundane monster? Though it's quite convincing, there's even a few monsters (actual ones!) hanging about nearby.

He needs some questions answered, which is likely how you find him standing before you, short brows furrowed despite his passive tone.]

Pardon me, is this some sort of local festival or celebration?

[The girl looks like pretty normal human, even with her pure white hair and eyes, and this is made even more likely by the way she's fussing over her clothes -- once white as well, apparently, but mucked up from the arrival and general city grime. Charlotte's none too happy...but when Hozuki addresses her, her face switches to a saccharine smile.]

Yeah. You never heard of it? [fuck if she knows tbh, but it wasn't like this guy could do anything about it if he knew as much as or less than her.] They call it Sheepskin, because it's all about the wolves in sheeps' clothing and they used to do cool sacrifices and things instead. This is the modern, kid-friendly way of doing things. Fun, right?

[It's hard to tell whether he's scowling or that's just... his normal face. Possibly both? There's no real recognition of the girl's odd state, he's mostly figured it out.]

Yes, very exciting. [Not that his tone matches the words, there's very little about such a festival he'd be interested in. He's not being rude, per se.. just, very matter-of-fact.] Could you point me to the nearest administrative office, then?

[Ha. She likes people that always scowl, because it meant that any hatred they might have for her was free to be ignored. At the same time...she could never know when they might hurt her. That was true of all people, though. An eyebrow lifts at the request.]

Mmm~? Mommy told me not to go places with strangers~

[Untrue. The most she got from her "mother" was a parasite in her head insisting that she not cause any trouble for others, just be a good little girl and do as you're told. Submit, no matter what. Screw that.]

Maybe if you're not a stranger anymore, I can help you.

[He fixes her with a flat, exasperated glance, letting out a soft breath.]

That's very smart of her... But, I didn't say you needed to come with me, just directions will do fine.

[He strooongly considers just... asking someone else, it'd be the most practical solution after all, but at least he can take this opportunity to dust off the sand and debris still clinging to the mostly dried yukata.]

[...]

Boo. You’re no fun.

[She could have gone with the tactic of “oh she said I can’t TALK to strangers either”, but...yeah. His patience is thin, and she’d rather have company than not. Even if that company was a fun-sucking leech of unbelievably boring proportions.]

You aren’t gonna find much more information than what’s in those pamphlets, but I can take you to the general store, if you want. Probably closest to what you’re looking for. [Her sweet smile reappears.] But that’s just a guess. I have no idea what goes on in most of your minds, and quite frankly I like it that way!

I don't need to be.

[He's a demon, not a leech, thank you very much. He squints a little more, somehow sharpening that glare. He's not buying the smile kid, give it up. There's a pause, ]

That's good, because I wasn't offering. [What a strange outburst. ] Let us go then, shall we?

[What a boring NPC. To think, she thought she was done with this shit... Damn it, Charles. What did you do now?]

Yuh-huh, escort quest start, or whatever.

[She doesn’t bother looking behind to see if he’s keeping up, because even if their walking speed was excruciating slow sometimes, NPCs in this kind of quest would always lag behind the protagonist. If they got lost, they’d call for help! And more tempting, she could drop the quest off her list and forget all about it.]

What’s the reward, anyway? There’s always something, or it’d be a total waste of time.

[A shame he doesn't express any of the internal reactions. A humm of curiosity, or just a glance at the strange girl. He just, yup, follows along. He can be the boring NPC... If NPC's had weird menacing auras around them..]

Ha? I never said I would pay you. You didn't even have to walk with me.

[To this Charlotte in particular? Yeah, NPCs had weird menacing auras.]

You'd think that, huh? It's okay. I didn't say you had to pay me, either, I asked what the reward was.

[If anything, he's at least impressed with this girls persistence.]

Hmmm? You can live knowing you helped a stranger, I suppose.

[There's a soft, almost inaudible Tsk- Following the rules of the mundane world are so tedious.]

[Her “tsk” is definitely audible, like she’s not used to the concept of having to be inaudible. At least they’re mutually exasperated.]

I guess that’s what “good girls” should expect, huh? Or is even expecting that too entitled?

[Good, two grumpy assholes walking along together. Just what both had coming.]

You tell me, that's not my problem.

[Flat, matter-of-fact, with a neutral scowl that suggests he'd hardly care even if it was. Yup. Just a boring stranger that this girl insists on leading.]

Mmm?

[She looks over her shoulder, her lips an odd twist between that sweet smile and a smirk.]

Don't you know you're interacting with the best girl? It's going to be your problem for as long as I'm around. And I can be around for a very long time.

[If it were possible for his scowl to get darker, it sure would, eyes narrowing on the girl with a thoroughly unimpressed look.]

You're a persistent brat, aren't you? [Zero hesitation.] Though I don't know why you're so determined to stay nearby.

[!!!!! Rude. It's unexpected and expected at the same time.]

Ugh. Are all adults just like this? How annoying. Maybe if we get you some soap at the general store, you'll liven up...at the cost of whatever sense you might have, but I've met robots that repeat themselves endlessly that are better conversationalists than you.

[He's got a wicked sharp tongue and doesn't hold back one bit around kids... A few millennia running Japanese hell will do that.]

Then go speak to them, instead. Or go play with the other children around like a normal kid. [Go on, go play along like all the other kids in limbo hell.] If you'll excuse me, I need to ask someone about where this land is...

Tch.

[She would if she could...! But Robo-Hux wasn't around, and the other kids... They watched her curiously, a little too intelligent for her liking even when they were horrifically stupid, and there might have been ones that would be friendly enough, but more often than not they had an attentive parent nearby that would give her a wary look. She didn't need that.

...So why does she need this guy... Charlotte scowls down at her feet as loneliness and fear wells up inside her, like maybe an unpleasant face will be enough to make it shrink back again.]

Does it matter? You're stuck here, now, wherever it is.

[Good, a fellow scowler. She's actually much more pleasant when she's letting her feelings show.]

Hmmm? Well, that's troublesome... my work will get quite backlogged if I don't return soon. [He lets out a little sigh, probably the most expressive thing he's done since the two have met.] Of course it matters. I'm quite read up on the mundane world... and this doesn't look like anywhere in hell or shang r- Ah- Nowhere.

[Yup, moving on, time to start walking again before she asks too many questions. Thankfully, the existence of monsters here has made the need for a disguise rather unnecessary. His long forehead horn and pointed ears hardly seem all that extreme by comparison.]

Why are you so sure I'm stuck?

[Always work this, work that, like the aliens. Mom was always at work, too -- no, that was part of the story, not real. Mother didn't actually do much of anything, except talk, and lay there, and talk, and cry, and talk, and never let it end.]

I haven't seen an elevator or any omnicubes. Even if I did, it's not like the elevators let just anyone use them. Whatever you read about hell and shangrilah or whatever is probably for another Floor and is as meaningless here as being alive is anywhere.

[Welcome to the adult world, kid~]

Hmmm? Well, from what I've gathered... we're not in the same world as before. Both you or I. It seems we're somewhere... different.

[Listen up, he's only going to explain what he's figured out once.]

We were supposedly brought here, according to most of these pamphlets. So that means there's someone who can send us back. I'm going to go have a word with them.

[Yes, he's entirely aware how crazy that sounds when talking about a god. But he's spent most of his life around 'gods'.]

[It's sweet of him to try, but Charlotte...still believes She's Right, You're Wrong, no matter what those pamphlets say. To be fair, she's been engineered to be the protagonist of the story. Being free from that fate...is too good to risk imagining and being disappointed.]

Trying to explain the structure of the House to you guys is a waste of time... Anyway, the real god of this world is pretty useless. I wouldn't expect him to solve your problems for you.

[Hmmm, what a brat. That's fine, he can deal with stubbornness. Though doing it without violence is... Touch.

She even earns a brief nod. He's worked under the 5th Judge Kind Enma for a number of millenia, and the first thing you learn about the gods is that they're just drunks with a lot of free time.]

That's true of most gods, their helpers are the only reason anything gets done. But, the formal process should be followed.

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Test drive meme: November

Hozuki | Hozuki's Coolheadedness

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