TEST DRIVE MEME: JULY / AUGUST

[ryslighelpers]

TDM: JULY / AUGUST

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.

Comments

clint barton / hawkeye | marvel (earth-616)

[coffeepots]

i. okay. this looks bad.

All in all, this isn't the worst day Clint has had. Yes, he woke up on a beach in another dimension without any of his team members or memory as to how he got there. Yes, he was covered in sand and ocean water and God knows what else before he woke up. Yes, there were people with guns who thought he was some sort of monster despite clearly looking quite human. No, he didn't have any of his equipment on him. But, still, it could be worse. He could be dead--or dying--instead of being chased down the street by a gaggle of pissed-off, rifle-wielding maniacs.

Clint weaves back and forth, trying to make his movements as erratic as possible. He doesn't know if they're trying to miss, or if they're just terrible shots. Or maybe their guns just suck. One of them fires a shot, the bullet striking the lamp post above Clint's head. He flinches, instinctively ducking.

"Jesus Christ!" he yells out. "Will you stop trying to shoot me?! Someone else might get hurt!"

Snark and sarcasm aside, he needs to lose these guys. It's only a matter of time before he's hit, and then it'll be over. He ducks into a nearby alley and spots a fire ladder leading up the side of an apartment building. He reaches up and pulls it down, but the mob turns the corner. He has nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. He slowly puts his hands up to demonstrate that he's unarmed.

"Well, shit."

He can see the headlines now: Hawkeye, noted superhero and Avenger, found bleeding out in a purple t-shirt and sweatpants, being wailed on by a bunch of civilians. Fantastic.

ii. i don't want these.

No, thanks. I already know enough about fur-bearing trout. And werewolves. I really, really don't need these. I just need to find the bus station--

[His protests are in vain, however, as more pamphlets get shoved into his hands. What the hell is he supposed to do with these? The contents hardly seem fit to be kindling, much less reading material. Eventually, he grows exasperated, shoving them into his sweatpants pockets and turning away. As the over-zealous humans follow him, Clint simply reaches up to his hearing aid and clicks it off in an obvious fashion. Sweet, sweet silence. Maybe that'll send the appropriate message to them.

Eventually, the people stop following him, and Clint is alone. He doesn't bother turning his hearing aid back on--after all, if he needs to talk to someone, he can just do it then.

Of course, Clint's deaf. He fails to hear approaching footsteps as he turns a corner and ends up colliding headlong into another person. He stumbles back, a startled expression on his face.]

Jesus! Watch w-- [He pauses, taking a moment to turn his hearing aid back on.] Watch where you're going, asshole.

[He scowls, rubbing his face and taking a moment to calm down.]

Sorry. I'm just trying to find the bus station to get out of here. It's been a long day.

iii. wildcard

[I'll match whatever format, action or prose! Wanna throw something else at this disaster? Hit me up @ wolfnoir!

Also, I'm cool with people being familiar with Hawkeye, as long as your character isn't implying that he's a fictional character.]

ii.

[tellessultan]

[It's moments like this where Joey's terminal politeness gets the better of him, because seconds after the collision his fist is already running quick clockwise circles against his chest, even before the guy he bumped into starts swearing at him.]

/Sorry, sorry - my bad./

[He nearly apologizes again, this time for not being quick enough to tell the guy he doesn't have to bother turning his hearing aid back on, but he refrains. If he keeps apologizing for things that don't need apologizing for, he's gonna wear a hole in his shirt.]

[He takes a moment to look his new acquaintance up and down, and his heart sinks as he realizes the guy is definitely not from around here, which can only mean one thing. Joey winces in sympathy, mouths the words 'ah jeez' and takes a moment to run a hand through his unruly curls as he tries to think of how he's going to explain the shitshow that Clint's just found himself in. After a second or two he untangles his fingers from his hair so he can sign, and when he does his gestures are slow and halting, his hands reluctant to be the bearers of bad news.]

/...Yeah. You're gonna have a hard time finding a bus that can get you past the mountains./

[coffeepots]

[Clint doesn't catch the "sorry" gesture at first, but when the kid continues to sign, he blinks. He opens his mouth to speak before closing it.]

You sign? [His backpedaling gesture is punctuated with a raised eyebrow. As soon as he finishes the sentence, he feels like kicking himself. Duh. Obviously he knows how to sign--they wouldn't be having this conversation, otherwise.

He takes a moment to evaluate the stranger standing before him. Muscular, toned build, couldn't be older than twenty-five. Not wielding any sort of weapons. A good sign, so far. Clint's hands hesitate before he continues.]

Great. [He rolls his eyes, emphasizing his sarcasm.] I guess no airplanes, either. You know a way of getting out of here?

[tellessultan]

[Yeah, Joey's not quite sure if this guy's sizing him up or checking him out, but either way, valid. Considering how hostile the locals have been to new arrivals as of late, it wouldn't surprise him to find out that this guy's had to physically fight half the people he's run into today.]

[Thankfully, muscular build aside, Joey looks like a human labradoodle - soft and friend-shaped.]

[He sucks a breath between his teeth, one eye closing slightly as he grimaces, wanting to convey just how terrible his news is, and just how much he doesn't want to have to be the one to deliver it.]

Would you believe me if I said there isn't one?

[He knows that's absolutely not the answer anybody would want to hear, so he's quick to follow it up with an explanation.]

You know that episode of the Twilight Zone where that little kid has godlike superpowers and traps a whole town in limbo? Yeah. It's like that. Welcome to Peaksville, buddy.

[coffeepots]

[It's a little bit of both, honestly. Just two blond dudes who may or may not be superheroes, standing in the middle of the street, having a conversation. It's great.

Clint grimaces, brow furrowing. Ah. Great. Not quite what he expected, but still pretty bad. He was never really good at dealing with trans-dimensional travel. Mostly, the job of figuring out how to get home was left to Tony or Bruce while Clint beat back whatever bad guys happened to be threatening their existence at the moment.

He sighs. Maybe the others are here, but he just hasn't run into them yet? That'd be the ideal situation.]

I take it I'm not the first person to have been sucked into this place, then. Who do I have to beat up to send us all back home?

[He pauses, hoping that his humor came through.]

Name's Clint, by the way. [He fingerspells it out, then follows up with a name sign--the letter C, then the sign for archery. He points towards the stranger, a questioning expression on his face.] You?

[tellessultan]

[Joey lets the joke land, offers a small, apologetic smile in place of an answer. There's no good way to say "you have to fight a godlike cosmic horror and nobody knows where to find her", so he doesn't.]

[Instead he just lets the question slip by unanswered while the guy -Clint- introduces himself. His name is short enough that for a moment Joey thought maybe he wouldn't have a sign for it, but Clint proves this assumption wrong just as soon as it occurs. C Archery. The name confirms what the ridiculously toned biceps imply; this guy knows his way around a bow.]

[Green Arrow, Eat your heart out.]

Joseph.

[He smiles slightly, content to poke fun at himself as he traces a hook in the air with his little finger, making the simple letter "J" for his own name sign. It's hardly creative, but it what it lacks in idiosyncrasy it makes up for in convenience - it's handy to have both his civilian and vigilante name start with the same letter.]

Boring, I know, but it gets the job done.

[Maybe one day he'll trust Clint enough to reveal the actual significance behind the sign, but for now he's just gonna have to leave him with the mistaken impression that he's not a creative person.]

[Joey takes a moment to look around, just to make sure there's no locals nearby who might look in on their conversation and take umbrage with their status as future-monsters. Once he's sure they're in the clear he looks back to Clint, his brow creasing slightly as his expression sobers.]

For what it's worth, I'm sorry.

[For not being able to give Clint the answer he wants to hear, for his getting brought here in the first place, for everything that's going to happen to him later.]

I haven't found a way to get back home yet, but I'll let you know if I ever do.

[coffeepots]

[Honestly, it wouldn't have been the first time Clint was forced to fight an omnipotent being with nothing but his bow, his arrows, and his wits. Though, most of the time, he also had a team of superheroes with actual superpowers to back him up....

Originally, Clint thought that the name sign for "Hawkeye" was enough for him--after all, his identity was a public matter, and it wasn't that big of a deal to introduce himself as Hawkeye. But, sometimes, you don't want to introduce yourself as Hawkeye. Sometimes, you just wanna introduce yourself as Clint Barton, the dude who's down to grab a cup of coffee and a sandwich at the shop on the corner, and one of his deaf friends obliged by giving him that name. Apparently, they already knew someone named Clint, thus...the addition.

Clint nods at the name. Hey, if it works, it works. When Joey apologizes, he shrugs. He doesn't look as concerned as he should be, and his signing is downright casual--though, under that calm exterior lies a slowly-growing panic.]

Don't worry about it. It's not like you were the guy who put me here in the first place.

[At least, he hopes so. It'd be a real shame if the first friendly face he's met in this place ended up being some sort of supervillain or something.]

Maybe we should team up? I've got some experience when it comes to being in other dimensions. [He pauses, frowning.] My other team members dealt with most of the...getting home part, though.

[tellessultan]

[Joey hears the words "team members" within the context of "being in other dimensions" and immediately comes to the obvious conclusion - he's dealing with some kind of superhero. Not all that surprising, considering how many other super-powered people this place has dragged in, but honestly Joey wouldn't have guessed just by looking at him. Clint doesn't strike him as particularly super-heroic, but then, he is having a pretty spectacularly bad day, so maybe Joey should reserve judgement. He's sure he didn't look all that awe-inspiring when he first washed up either.]

[Joey offers a hopeful smile - he's pretty sure they're going to be in way over their head even if they do join forces, but hey, misery loves company. If they're gonna fight a losing battle, they'll at least look like they've got even half a chance if they're not doing it solo.]

/I don't know how much help I'll be. Without my powers, I'm just some guy who's good at martial arts./

[Granted he was taught martial arts by the woman who trained the most ruthlessly efficient killer on the planet back in his home dimension, so that probably counts for a little more than he's giving himself credit for, but still. Being able to punch real good is a poor substitute for being able to dominate someone's consciousness and take possession of their body.]

/Still, I'm willing to give it a try if you are./

2.

[hevenly]

[ Angela is quite the person to walk into. Even taller now than she used to be, thanks to her new bovine legs, and built of solid muscle. She doesn't stumble back when bumped into, just stands her ground, glaring down at the man who just accosted her. ]

It is you who was not watching where he was going. Apologize, and maybe I will tell you how to find the bus station to go to Vandare.

[coffeepots]

[Clint raises his hands in an exasperated gesture. He doesn't recognize Angela--why would he? He didn't know her back home, and never spared the Guardians of the Galaxy so much as a second glance. Besides, it's not like Thor ever bothered telling him about the weird family shenanigans that happened between Asgard and Heven.]

Okay. Well, I already said I was sorry. I had my hearing aid off, and I couldn't hear you coming. [A beat.] I mean, I'd turned it off to try and ignore these jerks who kept following me around, but....

[He trails off, realizing that the more he explains, the stupider it sounds. His eyebrows knit together in a frown.]

So, you're a...monster?

[hevenly]

[ The apology is barely acceptable, but Angela does feel some amount of pity for the man she is now realizing must be a newly arrived human. When asked if she is a monster, her face falls, and she nods begrudgingly. ]

That is what I have been forced to become. You will suffer the same fate, in approximately one month's time.