Test-Drive Meme

[rubycitymods]

TEST-DRIVE MEME

Maybe you've considered appping a new character but you're not sure how well they would adjust to the in-game scenario? Well, here's a chance to give it a try!

• Post with a character journal you'd like to voicetest or you've considered apping to Ruby City. Feel free to play them as newcomers or as if they've been here for a while - the setting is your own choice.

•Respond to other threads with new characters or with characters who are already in the game.

• Explore different interactions, find castmates, develop possible CR - anything you want, as long as you have fun!

Comments

[video] | Mom (Roxy) Lalonde | Homestuck

[doctorlalonde]

I'd like to take the time to thank whatever kind citizen went out of their way to provide these little guides for the newcomers. I'm sure it knocks out most of the general questions from the more observant arrivals, anyway.

Interesting that this place can bring in all sorts, hmm? I'm actually fairly sure some of these languages don't exist, where I'm from.

So, I'm sold on the interdimensional, alternate-reality what-have-you. Not so certain how this came to be, but after the sort of day I've had, I can't exactly claim to be confused by anything anymore. [She chuckles, shifting her gaze off-screen before continuing.]

Pardon me for this message running long, but I suppose I should actually introduce myself before I end it. [Another laugh, and she returns her focus to the camera.]

My name is Roxy Lalonde; Ms. Lalonde will do. Please feel free to send me anything you may think is relevant to my interests-- for the record, anything you have to tell me about this place is relevant to my interests-- or just introduce yourself, if you'd like.

I think it'd be nice to get to know some of my new neighbors.

[Video]

[thepuppetmaster]

[Oh, lookie here..]

... I reckon I might be relevant to your interests.

[Pause.]

Ma'am.

[Video]

[doctorlalonde]

[She didn't expect such an abrupt reply... guess this place is busier than she thought.

Flipping open her watch, she finds herself face to face with a damn near exact replica of--]

Dirk...?

[No, that can't be. He's too young.]

H-haha... I-- I take that back. I'm confused. One hundred percent unbelievably confused.

[Video]

[thepuppetmaster]

I am Dirk.

[He slips his shades down a fraction. Those same bright orange eyes.]

I just ain't that one.

[Video]

[doctorlalonde]

[A little smile tugs at her lips. Oh no, Dirk. You've made a huge mistake.]

You're still absolutely precious. Congratulations.

[She can't say she's entirely disappointed with that. While she missed her Dirk... it really had been a while since they spoke.]

How long have you been here?

not here 1/3

[primrosepath]

[FUCKIN' NOPE.

HOW HAPPEN?

WHY HAPPEN?

WHY THIS?]

not here 2/3

[primrosepath]

[Calm down, Lalonde. You've handled this before without having a minor panic attack (just barely) you can do it again. Ignore the conflicting feelings about meeting your genetic mother from another universe again, ignore the anxiety over speaking to her for more than five minutes before she's gone again, ignore how much her saying her own name makes you miss your own daughter.

You're Rose Lalonde and you can handle this.]

[video]

[primrosepath]

[Mom, say hello to your grown daughter who is older than you.]

Hello, Mo-

[Nope, she can't say it. She just can't.]

Hi.

[video]

[doctorlalonde]

[Christ, you people are really trying to give her a heart attack, aren't you?

The confusion is evident in her entire expression, from knit brows to puzzled fuchsia eyes, right down to trembling lips, unsure of how to even respond to her.

She looked just like Rose. Her Rose. Her daughter. But... she's so much... older. This has to be the same phenomenon as young Dirk, didn't it? Only in reverse. So that meant...]

Rose--? [Oh fuck, oh fuck no. No, no no. She knows how this is supposed to work, now.

This woman is supposed to be her mother, isn't she? But... she's her daughter. She's so clearly her Rose, just... an adult. But with all that insane ectobiology nonsense that made this woman her daughter and mother, and--]

I-- I need a drink. That's it. I just. I need a drink.

[She exhales a shuddering sigh, lifting a hand to her face and rubbing at her temples.]

I don't-- I don't think I was ever prepared to handle this meeting, please forgive me.

[video]

[breaux]

Well, dick me twice, look who it is. [Bro no...] What's up, girl? How long's it been? A decade at least!

[Automatic response to everything: Sass. Bro has that smug grin on his face - just a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth and showing some teeth. It's nice to see a familiar face. Even if it's hers.]

[video]

[doctorlalonde]

[And if it isn't just Strider after Lalonde pouring in here... Two a piece were enough for the world to handle. This? This is getting outrageous.

Though she's absolutely, 100% certain she recognizes this one, because no one but Dirk Strider (Senior; she'd make a note of that later) talks to her like he does.

Despite the relief in her eyes, she maintains that familiar icy Lalonde demeanor if only long enough for a proper greeting for her ~favorite~ Strider.]

Of all places to see your face again... Can't say an alternate universe would be one of them.

[video]

[breaux]

Crazy how that shit works out, ain't it.

[He props his chin on his hands and maintains that shit-eating smug little grin.]
[No lie though, even for all the sass and passive-aggression, he is pretty glad to see her.]

You missed me, admit it.

[video]

[doctorlalonde]

[She'd be lying if she said she wasn't happy to see him as well. It really has been too long.]

Must I? That would insinuate that I have feelings and we simply cannot have that, can we?

[Of course she's teasing. Not that it's beyond her to play up exactly what he thought of her most of the time.]

If I must, than I would say yes. And I know you've missed me, Strider. You don't even have to say it. I see it in your ridiculous glasses.

Seems like you don't let go of those things in any universe.

[Video]

[goodknightsweetprince]

[Dave's face remains impassive behind his aviators. If Mom has ever had the pleasure of meeting Dirk Strider Sr.'s charge, she'll note that this handsome silver fox is pretty much him, all grown up and old enough to be your guardian.]

Whew, what an introduction. You improvise all that, or do you fall into interdimensional alternate reality whathaveyous often? Mind, not that I'd be surprised either way.

The name's Dave.

[The Strider kind of goes without saying.]

[Video]

[doctorlalonde]

[It'd be nice if every time she encountered a Strider she didn't become immediately and inconcievably attracted to them, no matter what universe she's from. Apparently this is just some sort of Strider/Lalonde thing?

Either way, it ain't fair! This is some Robert Downey Jr. Bullshit here, damnit.

She's noticeably surprised by his appearance, and she seems to just... stare in stunned silence there for a bit until she remembers that... he can actually see her. Welp, that sure made a first impression, didn't it.]

I-- pardon? Oh.

Oh.

[Shit that's not how she should have responded to that.]

Dave. I-- I'm sorry, I'm just-- I'm taking in a lot right now, please excuse me.

Yes, um. Well. No, actually. This doesn't happen much... just a lot in what I think has been the last twenty four hours.

[She did spend a lot of that journey drinking, so some of it is actually a bit hazy.]

[Video]

[goodknightsweetprince]

[Whoa there little missy hold your miniature horses, this here Strider's a kept man. Besides that, you're basically his alternate universe daughter, and House 12 may have a lot of snarky horseshit and, well, Dave shenanigans, but it ain't no soap opera.

This totally is some RDJ bullshit though. Right down to acting like a five-year-old in public, tbh.

A blond eyebrow arches over his shades when she just stares at him for a minute, and he patiently waits for her to compose herself. When she's done rambling, he finally cracks a bigger smile.]

You're fine. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. It's been a while since we had a Lalonde around here aside from Rosie.

Long and the short is, you've fallen ass over teakettle into the rabbit hole that is Ruby City, my dear Alice, a wretched hive of assholes and monsters.
We got an open guest room with your name on it at Casa Stri-Lal, if you're interested.

[Video]

[doctorlalonde]

[That's cool, it's usually a fleeting thing anyway. On most occasions, as soon as her Strider opens his mouth, she finds herself wishing she could just superglue it closed. However it does occur to her that this is still Dave, Dirk's Dave, but not his Dirk, her Dirk--

Screw it, she's not drunk enough for this.]

That would be great, thank you. Um-- I mean, so long as I'm not imposing? And I warn you you may need an extra room. Looks like I didn't come alone. [She knows he's probably got an idea of who she's talking about.]

Would you mind giving me a better explanation of what's going on here? Once I'm there, of course. The pamphlets helped, but I don't think I'm okay with staying this deep in the dark about our current predicament, you know?

cries because this thread is all i have ever wanted out of life, pardon while i spam you [1/3]

[purpleprose]

[Rose fiddles with the brassy gold watch, flicking through various video messages, trying to gather what intel she can on this strange new place.

When she hits "play" on this one--]

2/3

[purpleprose]

[For the first time in a very long time, her mind goes completely blank. For maybe half a second.

And then her head is filled with images--Mom pushing a vacuum around the house, Mom gilding an ornate frame displaying a childish drawing, Mom brandishing a martini glass like a sword, Mom peering through the telescope in the observatory, obviously too drunk to be making much progress but still trying.

Mom lying in a pool of her own blood, cold and dead.

A wash of guilt hits her like a tidal wave. It's been two years since the day her mother died, and if she ever thought she was over it, Rose is wrong. So very, very wrong. Her head is pounding with more than just the ache of a hangover she woke up in the city with.

Fuck.]

done [video]

[purpleprose]

[Fleetingly, she wonders if this is a cruel trick. Or a dream bubble. Or a hallucination, or a nightmare. But the little nagging knowing at the back of her mind tells her that this is real, whether she wants it to be or not, and that even if she can't See like she should be able to here, she knows this much at least.

Whatever the reason for the resurrection of the dead, Rose knows with a sickening certainty that she can't run. No matter how much she wants to (or doesn't).

So she struggles to smooth her face into an expression of aloofness that might be recognizable to her mother, failing miserably and ending up looking stricken and vulnerable and almost sick instead. Wishing she had her terrible home-made booze with her, Rose flicks on the feed.]

...Mother?

swEET BABY oh no i apologize for the wall of text

[doctorlalonde]

[If she thought that for one moment that her Mother didn't know when her little girl was feeling ill, then she clearly did not know her Mother very well at all. A mama knows when her baby doesn't feel good.

It would have been the first thing she'd have commented on if she hadn't been blindsided by this sudden wave of emotion.]

Rose. [The doctor looks a might bit ill herself, if not a little tearful. The reason Roxy ended up here in the first place had something to do with her death, didn't it? Strider had been the same, she came to find not too long ago. The very possibility that the same could be said for Rose just makes her heart drop into her stomach.

It occurs to her much too soon (she's actually not sure if her heart can handle it) that this might not even be "her Rose" either. She's met so many varieties of Strider and Lalonde in such a short time-- with not NEARLY enough alcohol in her system -- that she isn't entirely sure sure she'll be able to keep them all completely straight. At least for a little while. She'll catch on eventually.

This Rose is not the same little girl that she'd left in that game. This was a young woman with the same eyes and general look of displeasure and the same quiet determination that could only be found in the Lalonde genes. She can already see in the lines around her daughter's eyes that it wasn't exactly easy to get where she is, wherever she may be from. She looks tired.

That's a look she's all too familiar with seeing, and never, ever something she thought she'd see mirrored in Rose's eyes. (At least, she hoped she never would, but... the Lalonde genes, again.)

What has happened to this child since she--... shit. She needs to not think about it until she has all the information. Is this her Rose? Which universe did she come from? Did it even matter? It's definitely Rose, there is no doubt about that, and even if six more showed up, she'd take care of them the same way. Her daughter is her daughter and by damn she's going to be her Mother.]

It's good to see you, darling.

[Roxy has developed that very same blase sort of demeanor over many, many years, and still cannot seem to keep herself together much better than Rose can. One still probably wouldn't know what sort of heart-wrenching internal warfare is going down right now, but it should be obvious to Rose that she's not quite as composed as normal. (As composed as she could be while sloshing all about the house as it were. At least she managed to be somewhat elegant. Sometimes.)

She can't help that she's happy to see her. ...and admittedly a little stressed out by it too. Still, she can't let herself get too wound up about it, nobody likes seeing their mom freak out.]

Where are you?

[She doesn't want to talk over these things, Rosy. She wants to see you. Right this second, young lady.]

[Text] (he's self-conscious)

[crowsicle]

[Lalonde?

Davesprite checks the feed, and yeah, that lady sure looks like a Lalonde. Something about the eyes, and the curve of that smile--she reminds him of Rose at her most self-assured. Or her smuggest. And come to think of it, he's seen that exact coat somewhere, hanging on a hook in Rose's house like an empty shell.

He knows what happened to their guardians, though, and this lady seems in way too good a mood to have just died. Maybe that hasn't happened for her yet. He decides he should find out before he says something that fucks her head over.]

this is the chronological compliance census bureau
also known as the cccb
whats your point on the timeline maam
i mean whats the last thing you remember doing before riding the train

a baby [also text because why not] IM SORRY FOR ALL THE EDITS

[doctorlalonde]

There are too many of you, dear.

[All this orange and multiple Dirks is really throwing her, okay?]

Which Dirk am I speaking to this time?

[Never mind that she really doesn't want to talk about it. Not exactly something she wants to get into just yet.]

[Text]

[crowsicle]

[Well, that answers fewer questions than it raises. Weirdly enough, it's also the first time someone's mistaken him for Dirk rather than the Dave from his timeline.]

im not any dirk
youre only off by three letters though
anyway youre
roses mom right

[Text]

[doctorlalonde]

Not any Dirk?

[Ah, okay. That question gives her a bit more of a clue who this is.]

Pardon me, dear. The orange sort of threw me off for a moment.
To answer your question, though: Yes.
It's nice to hear from you, darling. How are you?