rubycity_ooc | September Test Drive!

Entry tags:

meme,
test drive

September Test Drive!

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.

Directions:

Post with your character with their name and canon on top!

Choose a location and prompt or wait for someone else to tag.

If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.

Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.

Locations:

1. Train Station: New arrival, or waiting to welcome people? Either way, the train comes in, but you still can't ride it out.

2. Cathedral: Looking for redemption? Just doing a little sight-seeing? Or just getting a little shelter?

3. The Beach: You can almost forget you're trapped, in a place like this...

4. The Black Stallion Saloon: You were told the burgers were great here-- but maybe you just came for the beer.

5. The Library: You came to do a little research, but it looks like all of the information's just out of your reach. Though, you can always find a way to pass the time here.

6. The Coffee Joint: A lovely place to have a chat and a bite to eat.

7. The Forest: Not a great place to be caught alone, but are you alone?

8. Wildcard: Pick anything from our list!

Scenarios

1. Just walked in: You intended to get here, and you made your way in; but now someone's caught your eye and you'd like to have a chat.

2. Been here all day: You've been sitting around minding the time. Maybe you didn't notice them at first or maybe you were just working up the courage to talk-- either way, they know you're here and you know it too.

3. Bad weather: You're here because you've gotten rained in. This wasn't your choice, but at least it's dry-- right?

4. Wild card: Got something better in mind? Well screw these prompts, try it out yourself!

Have fun, guys!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As soon as Nanami laid her eyes on the city's most recent newcomer, she immediately stiffened where she stood, not too far away from the station itself. For a long moment, the only thing that she could do was stare at Mukuro quietly and cautiously. Despite there being no risk of interference from her, the Future Foundation had made sure to inform her about the Super High-School Level Soldier, before dispatching her and Usami on their mission; Ikusaba Mukuro, the older sister and partner to Super High-School Level Despair's founder, Enoshima Junko.

Nanami knew everything that there was to know about the mercenary, from how she ran away to join Fenrir at a young age to her gruesome death from her sister's betrayal. As such, that didn't mean she was prepared to actually...speak with the soldier personally. It was a notion that had never came to mind, thus putting her at a loss. With Kuzuryuu being here, however, she couldn't...allow Super High-School Level Despair's influence to take hold on him once more. Enoshima Junko may have been the founder, but so long as she remained a part of the organisation, Ikusaba Mukuro was just as big of a threat.

Sucking in a breath, Nanami stepped forward towards the other, being sure to give a careful amount of distance between them. There's no telling what the soldier may do, and despite being an AI, Nanami isn't physically structured to endure combat - especially from a seasoned fighter. It was better for her to be on her guard before the other could make any type of attack. ...Given the girl's posture, however, she doubted that the other would make a strike anytime soon, but it was better to be prepared anyways.

"You're...Ikusaba Mukuro. Aren't you?" The question was faint, and the unease was evident on her features. "The Super High-School Level Soldier..."

Her head snapped up at the mention of her name, blank grey eyes locking on the unknown girl, immediately tense and uncertain. Mukuro didn't know her. It wasn't unusual-- she'd never tried to socialize, there were probably countless students Mukuro wouldn't have been able to identify. She'd only needed Junko, and Junko had only needed her to pay attention to certain targets.

But now, after everything, for someone to recognize her-- she shifted her stance, subtly, ready for a fight even despite her shaking. The girl's voice and demeanor wasn't threatening in the slightest, but she had her training. Even when she'd lost everything else she had her training. "Yes," she answered, low and guarded, peering at her searchingly. "And you...?" If she was another student, maybe she knew what was going on. Maybe she wasn't really dead, maybe Junko really hadn't--

Edited 2014-09-06 12:00 (UTC)

There was a brief pause following Mukuro's question, almost as if Nanami was hesitant to give her name. At the very least, she is assured about the fact that Mukuro does not know her; she was only created after the mutual killing of the 78th class - by that time, Junko and Mukuro were both dead. "...Nanami Chiaki," she responded finally, holding onto the straps of her backpack, "Super High-School Level Gamer. ...I attended Hope's Peak Academy."

She has no particular idea as to how to go about this, but she knows that she couldn't give away any information about the Future Foundation or her true role as an overseer for Super High-School Level Despair's rehabilitation process. ...Or rather, that's what it was going to be until the virus interfered and changed the program to an island life of mutual killing. In the meantime, she decided to just...act as she had on the island before her role was revealed.

"Do you...need help? You just arrived, right? I can show you around. It would be like a tutorial level to get you used to the world, I think..."

Her hesitation didn't even register. Almost everyone had been nervous and awkward around her. Tall, grim, quiet SHSL Soldier, much too frightening to approach or speak to-- but that was fine, wasn't it, because all she'd cared about was Junko. And now... She took another shaky breath, absorbing the name and title with an absent nod. Unfamiliar, as expected.

"Yes," she answered simply, again. "One second," She added, and promptly doubled over, leaning heavily against the wall and resting her face in her hands. Breathe. Slowly. Count and breathe. Calm down so you don't pass out. She went through the steps numbly, trying to slow her rushing heartbeat, still her dizzy thoughts-- clinging to her mechanical procedure, as if that would change what had happened.

"..."

Nanami bent down to Mukuro's height but made no move to approach her while she was in that state; instead, she rested her hands on her knees to keep her balance and watched Mukuro silently. Honestly, it didn't take her long to realise exactly why...the soldier would have been in such a state. If she was right in her assumption, Mukuro...would had to have been brought here from after her death. The city was strange like that, being able to bring the deceased back to life - after all, Nanami herself was a living example of that - but...she hadn't taken her previous death as bad as Mukuro was now.

Then again, she couldn't really blame her. Just like the other members of Super High-School Level Despair, her classmates, Mukuro was just as much of a victim of Junko's influence. It was completely understandable, and Nanami had no qualms with waiting for the other to finally steady her breathing. She simply crouched there, her eyes fixed on the trembling soldier before her, waiting for her to finally decide when they should leave.

Breathe, breathe, breathe. Don't think about it. Don't feel. Don't remember the spears, her laughter distorted through the speakers, the screams of her classmates-- she shook her head quickly, nails digging into her scalp. Breathe. Empty and calm and cold. Slowly, her composure returned, her shaking leveled off to occasional small tremors and she didn't feel like she was about to collapse at any second.

She swiped at her eyes with the back of one hand and straightened up, taking in a long, measured breath. "Sorry," she murmured, voice flat and numb again as usual. As it should be. "I... I'm ready." As ready as she'd ever be, to explore this purgatory. She was honestly surprised Nanami had bothered to wait for her, wreck that she was.

Nanami nodded in response, straightening herself back up and brushing down her skirt before she turned to leave the train station. She walked at her usually slow pace, except this time it wasn't because she was taking her time; she didn't want to leave Mukuro behind, considering how dazed she was about the entire situation. She walked clockwise to the city, heading towards the cathedral and the houses behind it first. She didn't say anything for a while, as was her wont, but eventually she spoke out. "This place...is called Ruby City. No one really remembers getting on the train to come here, and there's no way to leave." She paused, shrugging her shoulders. "...Probably. None of us have found it yet, anyway."

Mukuro followed her tamely, quietly, head low and eyes dead as she trailed after the gamer. She nodded at the appropriate places, glancing dully over their surroundings. So they were trapped... she probably should have felt afraid, or maybe angry... something. She should have felt something. But right now it was all she could do just to keep walking.

A question occurred to her, bubbling up slowly from the morass. "Is..." She swallowed dryly, trying again. "Is this... the afterlife?" It sounded ridiculous, completely idiotic, but-- she had no other idea what it could possibly be, and she had to know.

Fortunately for her, Nanami didn't seem to think the question was ridiculous at all, moving to answer it as soon as it was spoken. Her response was still a little belated given her tendency to think before she spoke, but it wasn't that long of a delay. "Mm... No, it's not the afterlife. Actually... I don't think anyone truly knows what this place really is." She's been in Ruby City for approximately five months now, and she still hasn't found an answer to that question. "People who died and are brought here...come alive while they're here, but...it's not an afterlife."

Edited (what is past tense...) 2014-09-06 19:50 (UTC)

Well, at least that was ruled out. She hadn't moved on, she'd just been somehow ended up in some strange alternate universe. It... well, it didn't really make it better. She'd still been murdered, and by-- she shook her head again, forcing herself to take another long, slow breath. No, she wasn't going to think about that any more. She couldn't. Not right now.

"Why?" It was sort of a broad question, she realized, so she tried to clarify. "I mean... why are we here? Why us?" Why her? She was worthless, discarded, why had she been dragged to this surreal new reality, of all things?

There was another long pause, but she continued to walk; around this point, she was reaching the obelisk, the hub of the city. That would make travelling a bit easier for Mukuro, she assumed. "...Who knows?" She certainly didn't, but then again, she was hardly bothered by the situation at all. Even when she had first arrived, she wasn't all that bothered by her sudden appearance here and had gotten into the swing of things rather smoothly. "...No one really knows why we're here...and no one knows who took us. But it's okay. This may seem like survival horror, but it's not all that bad... You just have to watch out for the monsters."

Wait.

"...Ah, but it's nothing to worry about as long as you stay inside the city. They're getting a bit smarter, but...we're a lot smarter."

She glanced up at the obelisk, taking in their surreal surroundings with probably less interest and enthusiasm than was strictly normal. As strange as everything was, it seemed almost fitting that their purpose here was a mystery. Of course, the next comment made her pause.

...Monsters?

She blinked slowly, staring at Nanami. Mukuro had never been a very good judge of character, she knew that very well, but... It didn't seem like she was lying. There wasn't even really a benefit to lie about something like this, was there? "Monsters," she repeated, flatly, as though she couldn't quite grasp it. "What... what exactly do you mean?"

"Yep, monsters," she repeated, and for a moment, it seemed as though that was the only answer that Mukuro was going to receive, given the pause in between. It was almost as if her brief moments of silence were gradually growing longer throughout the conversation. "Like giant spiders and heart-eating shadows. For the most part...they tend to stay outside of the city...but sometimes they creep in. When that happens, it's recommended not to go outside...since they'll probably attack you." And by 'probably', she means definitely. "...Some people are working to keep the streets safe in case that happens, though."

Mukuro actually stopped walking at that point, staring intently at the soft-spoken girl. She said it so casually, like it was totally normal and expected. Giant spiders and heart-eating shadows... Maybe this really was hell. She considered quietly for a moment, glancing off towards the city walls.

"Can they be killed?"

"Probably," she answered, shrugging her shoulders. "I've never seen them myself, so I wouldn't know...but there are a some in the city who might have. The people working to keep the streets safe may have fought plenty of monsters... I can ask for you if you want."

She shook her head vaguely, thoughts slowly starting to take shape, feeling like she'd just found a lifeboat in the sea of her despair. Monsters or humans, a target was a target, and she was a soldier. She could fight, she could be useful, she could throw herself into battle not have to think or feel or hurt--

"Is there... is it a group? Can I sign up?"

"Yep, there's a group. You'd have to ask Captain Steve Rogers first, though. But I don't think he'd mind your help, so...you should definitely join." She only spoke to him once, but she vaguely remembered his mention of a group dedicated to protecting the townspeople from danger. Considering that Mukuro was a soldier, Nanami wasn't surprised at all of her sudden interest - she was actually rather supportive of the idea; if Mukuro did something else with her time besides spread despair and learned to be independent from her sister, then she would be a lot better off.

She paused for a moment then tilted her head to the side as she regarded Mukuro. "...Hey, hey. I've never been in war before, except for in games like Halo and Battlefield... What's it like?" She thought it would be a good conversation starter to ease Mukuro's awkwardness, and...there was still so much about the world that she didn't know. Hinata was usually the one who educated her, but since he wasn't here in the city, she started to looking to others for knowledge.

She filed the name away for later, unsure if she'd really follow up but unwilling to just ignore it. She needed something to do, after all. Nanami's question took her off-guard, and she cast a weary, uncertain glance her way. No one ever really wanted to talk to her before, least of all about her talent. It was always too intimidating. She was always too intimidating.

"Loud," she admitted, quietly, a little embarrassed to pick that as the very first impression she had of the whole thing. "Repetitive." But that at least was soothing, familiar. "It's... the same thing, every day, mostly. You have a routine, and orders. You don't really have to think... you just follow and listen." And she never had to worry or hurt, she could just be a perfect machine, just motion and intent.

"The games are... pretty close, I think."

And that said the most.

When Mukuro finished speaking, Nanami nodded in response. As a gamer, she could attest to the fact that the games were similar to what the other had described, but...she still thought that there was a higher difficulty in real life than in-game. After all, in the games, one had the chance to strategise before going out into the battlefield, and if they made a mistake they had the chance to redo. In real life, there were no extra lives that you could rely on...but from what she knew of Ikusaba Mukuro, the other had nothing to worry about. The soldier had returned from numerous wars unscathed, and her ability was hard to match.

As to be expected of an elite soldier.

"I see... That's really interesting, Ikusaba-san. It sounds a little different from the games, but...it's pretty similar."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

September Test Drive!

sdr2 spoilers, ahoy!

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