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graveyardsmash2020-09-11 10:03 am
ryslighelpers) wrote in graveyardsmash2020-09-11 10:03 am
Entry tags:
TEST DRIVE MEME: SEPTEMBER
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.
no subject
Then the man turns around, white robes stark against even this darkness, and Shen Qingqiu promptly chokes on his own spit.]
Liu-shidi?
[What! The! Fuck! How the hell did Liu Qingge transmigrate with him?! Unless...don't tell him this is still the world of PIDW and Shang Qinghua really did stoop low enough to include guns in the setting!
He's so busy reeling from the revelation that it takes a few seconds for Liu Qingge's words to register with him - but when they do, his head snaps up in shock as he stares into the other man's eyes. He'd assumed he was still in the original goods' body given that he's wearing the same robes he died in, but perhaps the transfer had worked after all? That, or...aren't those questions the same ones that an unprepared transmigrator (unlike himself) would ask?]
Does...shidi not recognize this master?
[He holds his breath waiting for the response, not sure what answer he's hoping for. If that really is Liu Qingge in there, things are going to get a lot more complicated. If it's not, then...they'll still be complicated! Nobody wins!
(But if someone transmigrated into Liu Qingge's body, then that must mean that the original -- no. He cuts that line of thought off before it even finishes forming. The person isn't carrying Cheng Luan and he can't sense any spiritual energy from him - clearly it must be some sort of alternate universe version if that's the case.)]
no subject
In any case, this is the first clue he would get in figuring out where he is, so Liu Qingge blinks away the seawater from his eyes that fall from bedraggled, drippy hair, and looks. ]
...
[ Liu Qingge is silent, for a moment.
Everything goes quiet, it seems, Shen Qingqiu at the epicentre of it all.
He has.... a complicated expression, as he stares back at Shen Qingqiu. It is something that can't be described as any particular sort of emotion; it is probably too dark to make out, but his emotions quickly flit through shock, relief, betrayal, and... finally, anger. ]
.... How dare you.
[ It seems that Liu Qingge is convinced that this is some kind of dreamscape, a demonic curse that has pulled him into this hellscape. It is probably that Demon Bastard who has done this ... otherwise how could Shen Qingqiu be here? How else could he call him with such a familiar voice? How could anyone else recreate the way Shen Qingqiu's eyes open wide?
He takes a step, a half step in the sand, towards Shen Qingqiu - his brows are furrowed, and Liu Qingge raises a hand, extends it toward the other - and twists his lips in a sneer, biting down at the inside of his cheek and tasting blood. ]
How dare you conjure him up?!
no subject
...ah. Right. Liu Qingge just saw him spectacularly bite the dust. He probably thinks Shen Qingqiu is some sort of malicious spirit or illusion.]
I'm not a conjuration. [He catches Liu Qingge's hand in his own to prove his solidity, tries to gently lower it into a less aggressive stance. Truth be told, Shen Qingqiu's a little touched and a lot surprised by how angry the guy is over this supposed deception - he'd assumed Liu Qingge would just shrug and move on after his death, especially after the whole debacle over the trial. To be this upset over what he thinks is a demonic conjuration - Liu-juju, your loyalty towards your fellow peak lords, even the dead ones you barely tolerated, is truly admirable!
But it also means that now Shen Qingqiu has one more problem he needs to tackle before even handling the mountain of other ones. He appeared here after 'dying'...then does that mean Liu Qingge is the same?]
Your shixiong is far too wet and uncomfortable to be a mere illusion. [The wry amusement in his tone quickly fades into a more urgent expression.] There's something more going on here. We need to figure out what it is. What's the last thing shidi remembers?
ROARS AT SQQ PLEASE!!!! HAVE A BRAIN!!!!
No matter what this- this thing says, he is fully prepared to just ignore it. It's a trap, he thinks. It's designed so that he will never wake up from this. Already, Liu Qingge feels that he has been in this dream for too long; without his sword, without his spiritual energy, he feels lost. He feels angry. He feels-
The other's hand catches at his own, his fingers wrapping around the tight clutch of Liu Qingge's knuckles. They are cold, and slender, and impossibly firm for the bare-bones looks of them. He knows them. He has seen them wrapped around fans, around tea cups, pulling at the pale green sleeves of his robes. He has watched those hands fall.
He feels-
Liu Qingge grimaces. The smooth skin of his brows furrow, eyes shifting away from Shen Qingqiu's face to their joined hands, then further down still, to the sand. ]
Shen.. [ The pressure at his hand is not strong - it is like a baby, but Liu Qingge's arm faintly trembles, before he lets it fall. ]
Shen Qingqiu.
[ Just give him a moment okay???? He's lived 4 years without you!!! ]
I-
You-
[ 'Far too wet and uncomfortable' catches his words unguarded and Liu Qingge realises that the other is shaking faintly. It is only after a while that he comes to the realisation that he, too, is.
It is strange, to feel such things. The core formation should have rendered them all but invulnerable, but.... ]
.... We will talk later.
[ Liu Qingge still doesn't look at the other directly. He twists his body, half-turning away and pulling his hand free of the other's grip. ]
For now, we need to get out of here.
his brain is being used for monster facts, there's no room for anything else!!
A dark suspicion begins to bloom in the back of his mind, one he can't quite push away. He hadn't been that surprised to find both Xiu Ya and his golden core missing, given that the last thing he remembers is destroying them both - but for Cheng Luan to be gone as well? What exactly happened after his self-detonation? Surely even this battle-hungry meathead wouldn't have been foolish enough to fight the OP protagonist and gotten his ass killed for it, right? Right? Hey shidi, don't just ignore him, give him some answers!]
Mm. Later, then. [No, now!! It's only thanks to years of practice that he manages to swallow down his protests and school his face into an even expression.] Before that, though....
[He walks over to the unconscious NPC and crouches down to examine the body up close. He'd been a bit too preoccupied with the shotgun barrel in his face to notice any other details at the time, but now...
A tweed jacket and cap. Suspenders over a button-up shirt and trousers. Short-cropped hair. Shen Qingqiu may not have known much about fashion in his past life, but he's still well aware this is not clothing that belongs anywhere in a xianxia setting.
He closes his eyes for a second, feeling a calm resignation wash over him. So. Not the demonic realm, or the dreamscape, or some bizarre version of an afterlife. He's transmigrated to another world again...and so, it seems, has Liu Qingge. Now, how to break this gently to the other man without raising suspicions about himself...?]
Liu-shidi, come over here. Have you ever seen clothing like this before in your travels?
:upside down smiley:
The idea occurs to him that maybe, this might not be some kind of hallucination.
How else would he account for Shen Qingqiu being here?
Liu Qingge is not given to working out complicated issues of potential reincarnation or whatever this could be. All he knows is that -
Shen Qingqiu bends over the unconscious NPC, apparently looking him over. Dimly, Liu Qingge registers that he is still wearing the pale green robes of a Peak Lord, that it is similarly drenched and covered in sand as him, and the way his hair slips over the curve of his nape and shoulders.
Liu Qingge looks away. ]
... No.
[ He does not make a move to draw closer. ]
I have never seen it.
no subject
Neither have I. It certainly doesn't appear to be of demonic origins, as far as I can tell. [Hint hint! He straightens back up, then picks up the shotgun as an afterthought. Not that he thinks he'll need a weapon with the war god of Bai Zhan at his side, but he doesn't want the NPC waking up and chasing them down with it either.]
I see lights over there. Perhaps there lies a village where we can find some answers.
no subject
He isn't waking up anytime soon.
[ After all, he wanted plenty of time to figure out this place and the reason behind his presence here. Now aren't you glad that you recognised him before he did, Shen Qingqiu? ]
What kind of weapon is that?
[ Liu Qingge draws a little closer, out of curiosity. He has never seen anything like that before... But stop him! There are more important things at hand!! There are so many more important things they should be talking about, Liu Qingge!
He glances at the other, and a brief expression of 'you are really hopeless' crosses his face. It was just like Shen Qingqiu to say something like that without thinking. The thought itself is ... sobering. ]
You are not suggesting that we just march in there? I-
[ The rest of his remark does not come, Liu Qingge abruptly snapping his mouth shut and frowning deeply. Bedraggled or not, he still has his pride as a cultivator! Even though at the current moment, it does not seem as if he has access to those powers he once had. ]
... I don't have Cheng Luan.
[ Is it a trick of the sea wind, or does he sound incredibly disappointed? ]
no subject
Out of what is definitely not pettiness, he keeps the shotgun at his side instead of holding it out for Liu Qingge to examine. He doesn't want his weapon-crazy shidi to accidentally shoot himself, after all!]
I can't say. I've never seen anything of the like in our realm or the demonic one. [Which is technically not a lie....
Yeah, he sees that expression and returns it with a huff of annoyance.] This master suggested no such thing - merely that we peacefully approach the locals and make polite inquiries about where we are. [Try for a little diplomacy, Liu-shidi...you can do it! He believes in you!
Any exasperation he feels though quickly disappears after that last remark. Shen Qingqiu's expression immediately grows concerned as he looks his shidi over. He's never seen Liu Qingge without Cheng Luan - hell, he's pretty sure the guy sleeps with his sword - so for it to suddenly vanish must be a devastating blow.
He can't think of a non-awkward way to ask 'so did it go missing when you woke up here or did you fucking die', so in the end he just pats the other man sympathetically on the arm.] It's possible we'll find clues to its whereabouts the more we learn about this place. At any rate, surely the war god of Bai Zhan doesn't need a sword to keep us safe?