FEBRUARY TEST DRIVE

[rubycitymods]

Welcome to the Ruby City Test Drive!

The rules are simple:

• Pick your prompts and post your character, making sure to include the character's name and canon in the subject line.


• Tag around, making sure to follow the game rules. If you're not sure about something, don't be shy - check with the other player!


• We recommend staying away from "I just arrived" prompts. Instead, write your test drive threads as though your character has been in the city a while and is responding to our periodic events, especially if you're going to use your test drive threads as application samples. This will give mods a better understanding of your character, as well as make more dynamic prompts for other players to respond to.


• This one's obvious, but just in case you forgot: have fun!

KEEP RUBY CITY WEIRD

ONE ► You've been here a few weeks now, and things haven't gotten any more logical. You're on your weekly run to the grocery store and, for the umpteenth time, you notice something . . . not quite right. Maybe there's some unusual food on the shelves, something you don't know how to identify or would never have considered eating back home; edible chalk or an entire refrigerator full of ostrich eggs are more likely than you think! Or maybe it's something even stranger than that. Was that janitor's closet always there--and if it wasn't, do you really want to investigate? Have there always been seven aisles, because you really think you remember six last week . . . Whatever the weirdness this week, you're going to have to find a way to deal with it, whether that's by confronting it directly, asking another shopper for help, or turning to the network in dismay.

TWO ► While there are some reasonably fun places to hang out in Ruby City, the catacombs don't fall into that category. They're dark and miserable and terrifying, seemingly designed to trap you and draw you in, maybe even alive. The walls shift in an ever-changing maze, leading you further and further in, coaxing you towards any number of pitfalls. How long have you even been in here? Hope you brought a light, although it won't help much against the ghosts. Maybe you have a friend (or an enemy) with you; if not, you can try calling for help on the network, but let's be realistic: this isn't the kind of place that gets great reception.

THREE ► You've found an abandoned house. Again. This is a fairly frequent occurrence, given the city's eerie emptiness and tiny population. On a whim, or maybe even by accident, you enter the house and find the detritus of the previous owners. Pictures in frames of smiling friends, notes written from one person to another covered with inscrutable inside jokes, even a place on the wall where the former occupant used to hang their watch when they went to bed. Do you feel like an invader, or do you consider this place yours for the exploring? Either way, there's a lot to think about, or a lot to steal. If you're alone, you can philosophize on the network; if you brought a friend, you can philosophize in person or just get to looting.

MONSTERS ALL AROUND

FOUR ► In your time in Ruby City so far, you've seen plenty of monsters already. Honesty, you can't get away from the ghosts. This is a new one, though: there are a bunch of thestrals around this month, and while they're largely shy of people, anyone who heads into the forest is likely to come across them. If you've ever experienced someone's death before, you'll be able to see them in all their skeletal winged horse-y glory, witness them peering at you with their shining white eyes and considering you with a bit of mistrust. If you haven't experienced a death, congratulations, you just ran into an invisible dead horse. On the plus side, they're not violent; they just want to hang out being death omens, but they're scary enough to look at that you might ask for advice, either from a companion or the network at large.

FIVE ► Ah, fairies. Tiny little winged creatures that frolic in the forest and bring good fortune, probably. Right . . . ? The opposite of right. Fairies are pretty, but very mischievous and potentially dangerous. They're easily offended and quite vengeful, and if you step into a fairy ring you'll be transported directly to the land of the Fae. Take care not to eat anything or you'll be stuck there forever. On the plus side, if you manage to befriend a fairy they'll go a long way for you. If you're thinking about trying, you might take a network poll: is this a stupid idea or am I a genius? If you've already decided you're a genius, go ahead and venture into the woods, but make sure to take backup or at least pray to run into someone sensible along the way.

SIX ► You totally have a clean conscience. Absolutely. 100%. You've never done anything wrong in your life; we know this, and we love you. So then why are you seeing the Adh Seid? Every night at midnight, a beautiful woman enters your home to remind you of all the awful things you've done in your life. You could set a clock by her, she's so persistent, and you can't figure out any way to get rid of her. How do you cope with this? You can ask someone, but that would mean admitting your guilty conscience. Or you could just vaguepost. Everybody loves a vaguepost.

SOMETHING'S HAPPENING

SEVEN ► So . . . you died. How did that feel? Terrible, right? Dying sucks. But coming back is sometimes even worse. Before the vision of Death you've seen (whichever one makes most sense to you, whether that's a big skeletal dude in a black cloak or something else entirely) lets you reenter the land of the living, it tells you that you have to give something up in exchange. That something can be physical, like an item or even a body part, or something less tangible, like a memory or skill. You'll get it back eventually, but for now it's out of your reach. Hard to cope, right? Maybe don't die next time. In the meantime, you're probably going to have to ask for help as you adjust, so make sure to reach out on the network. Unless you're the stoic sort, in which case, never fear: there are enough nosy people in this city that somebody's sure to notice sooner than later.

EIGHT ► You're yourself again, but you weren't for a while. There were a couple of days when you were yourself from ages ago--back when you were a kid, or at least a young adult. Or maybe you were a version of yourself that never came to be, an alternative version that made one crucial decision differently and had totally different experiences. Now that you're back to normal, you probably feel a little off-kilter. Maybe someone who's been here for longer than you has some insight; you might as well ask. Or you can just brood. Brooding is a fine option.

NINE* ► Ruby City is not what it was. While as long as you've been here you've known it as a very strange place with long stretches of boredom interrupted by horrifying upheaval, the city it has become now is totally, completely . . . pleasant. Nothing bad ever happens. No one questions anything, because nothing bad ever happens! And if someone asks about a bad thing that may or may not have happened, they are silenced. Quickly. Which didn't bother you until you woke up this morning and suddenly remembered the old city. What do you do? Is the right choice to conform and try to stay safe or fight against this Stepford city? Be careful what you say on the network this time--but who knows, maybe someone around you has woken up just like you have.

________
* This event is based off of our June 2016 Pleasantville event.

Comments

Vyryx Desrosiers | Final Fantasy XIV; canon OC

[foreverhalone]

Three; video

Hypothetically speaking: when one stumbles upon the previous home of a fellow--resident, would one consider it poor taste to take advantage of their disappearance?

Particularly when they have seemingly left behind objects of subjective worth?

[Sure, he's asking and all, but whatever he's told isn't likely to shake him of his greedy course.]

Five

[It probably would have been a smart idea to look before walking so aimlessly in the woods. Sure, he was looking, but maybe not so keenly as to where he was stepping. The forest was filled with monsters and creatures--a bittersweet reminder of the home he left behind--and as thus he did not see the faerie circle he waltz right into.

And now he's in a different place altogether. Just great! He'll be wondering this realm for a while, looking for anyone who might not be the small little buggers who are clearly at fault for his current situation.

If it takes too long to find anyone, he may very well be found harassing a faerie about how to get back. He's honestly not above attempting to pluck the wings from one of his diminutive hosts...]

Three, Audio! o/

[dynrskoglar]

It's not like they're using it. Finders keepers.

[ The shrug in her tone should be fairly obvious. If the owner thought something had value, they'd have taken them along for whatever trip they went on, right? ]

Hells, if you don't want them for the coin they'd net you, I'd gladly snap them up. A drink or five wouldn't go amiss.

GROSS

[foreverhalone]

'Tis true. Little will they miss what they've abandoned--willing or no.

[He's no thief... well, ordinarily. But he's not a stranger to pilfering from the dead, and he does suppose the missing is all the same. If none is around to claim ownership is it really stealing?]

By all means, if you are truly hurting for coin, I suppose you can have your share. That is, if you can find your way here.

[:)]

YE, U ARE THE GROSSEST

[dynrskoglar]

Can't miss your stuff if you aren't there to piss and moan about it. Their loss either way, eh?

[ She's admittedly got a somewhat questionable grasp on property ownership. SHRUG. ]

Aw, c'mon. No vague clues? You trying to get me lost?

Five

[milkandsugar]

[Another miqo'te seems hopelessly lost. He has entirely given up figuring out where he is in favor of building himself a little fire and a ramshackle branch hut. Hut is wildly overstating. It is held together with friction and prayer. The young man is dressed in already worn, but well-made clothing. He's mid creature-skinning and invested in his work as he holds the thing's legs in his feet and runs a knife under its hide.

He hears someone approach and he jumps in his seat, very nearly dropping the meat in the dirt.]

Who goes there!

[His voice cracks mid-sentence to his shame]

[foreverhalone]

[R'dhanha lucky Vyryx isn't the jumpy sort. Well, perhaps in some ways he is, but the point is he's not so easily spooked. It was by accident he even came across this little camp site, but he's not sure quite yet if it's a good thing.

But then he notices the meat, and it's definitely leaning on the good side.]

Vyryx Desrosiers of Ishgard.

[There's an audible pause as he stares at the other Miqo'te, his mouth pressing into a thin line.]

You look familiar... Have I seen you before?

[He might employ Empyrean Bellatorum for their help from time to time, but hells if he'd allow remembering names and faces to take mental real estate.]

Three, Audio

[saltyaxitude]

Uh.

[It's not like Ikar is above pilfering from the dead, but taking advantage of someone's disappearance is different! Sort of.]

That depends. How long do reckon they've been gone?

[foreverhalone]

You ask as if I simply can wager an accurate guess.

[Sighs, Ikar, he likes you, but you ask such stupid questions sometimes.]

There's a fair amount of dust, I suppose that's telling enough.

three

[rollerbunny]

You give it a grace period if y're not a dick, also send a wave askin' if anyone knew them.
Not sure what's yer account for "subjective worth", but, you know.

Ceridwen the Gyre | Final Fantasy XIV | Canon OC

[dynrskoglar]

ONE ||

[ By the Twelve, check out the size of these friggin ostrich eggs. They're huge!

Out of the ordinary or not, Ceri is quite happy to stuff two of them in her basket after thoughtfully weighing one in her hand - half since she can make about twenty omelettes out of these things, and half because they're the same prize as regular dinky chicken eggs. Talk about a bargain.
Poking her head out of the fridge she's browsing in, she poses a casual question at the nearest shopper. ]

What d'you reckon would go well with these, bacon and mushrooms, bacon and greens... or bacon and more bacon?

[ The last one is the most likely tbh, but outside opinions are important too. ]

SIX; AUDIO ||

[ It's the dead of night when the message goes out, which might be partially why she sounds exhausted. Or, possibly, it could be because of the persistent voice drifting in and out of the background claiming that you did a bad thing and you should feel bad about it, which she really doesn't. You stop seeing things as just black and white without shades of grey after doing a lot of contract work. ]

For pity's sake, anyone figured out how to get this pain in the arse to piss off? I tried throwing a spear through it, but...

[ "Throwing spears, like at that poor man last month YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD FOR IT WHAT IF HE HAD KIDS TO FEED--"
She groans. You bet your ass she's got her pillow firmly pulled over her head (Muffling her words a little), and it's not helping to block out the tirade of guilt tripping one bit. ]

Shite, woman, give it a bloody rest already! [ THUNK. Number of times she's thrown her spear at it is now 2. Not that it helps, really. ] It's worse than my swiving ma's inane heckling. Much more of this and I'm drinking myself to sleep, ghost or no ghost.

Re: Six; Audio (Anonymous)

[arken7]

Adh Seid.

[It's all Julian manages before he hears the weighty impact of a spear sinking into a wall. The sounds of him rolling into an upright position on his bed come with a quiet yawn before he adds anything else.]

A spirit. Loves to tell people about the bad things they've done in their past. Literally their job.

You won't get rid of it with something like a spear. They aren't weak to cold iron or stuff like that.

Can't quite remember how to get rid of 'em. Last one got a face full of midnight sunshine, though. In the supernatural power sense.

… Honestly, if you don't mind grog from weird sources, go right ahead with the binge.

[dynrskoglar]

Job or not, it can piss off and bother someone else.

[ There's a hideous groaning of wood as she wrenches the weapon out of the wall - likely sunk in halfway up the 'blade' and bindings from the force of the throw - with a great deal of cursing under her breath. ]

Noted. Binging.

one

[watermelogisty]

[ Well, maybe most people wouldn't really ask a boy as young as Steven looks cuisine questions, but he simply looks over when he's address and looks at the gigantic egg in awe. ] Whooooaa, that egg is huge! Man, you could make a giant omelette with that! [ So, he's about the same level as her. ] Oh- bacon and mushrooms sounds great! If you throw some red pepper in there, you can really get a nice flavor going.

Howard the Duck | Marvel Comics| Canon

[the_gerber_baby]

Three, video

[Howard can be seen standing in front of the abandoned, clearly haunted house.]

Really? This is what we're doing now? I'm pretty sure I just saw four kids and a dog driving away from this place.

[He sighs and crosses his arms.]

Nope. Not gonna do it. Not gonna go in, and no dad blasted city with a mind of its own can make me.

***

Four

"Waugh!"

Howard stumbles backwards in surprise, landing on the sidewalk on his behind. The sudden appearance of a killer death horse had taken him completely by surprise.

Carefully crab-walking backwards, he pulled himself to his feet, staring the thestral in its mad, horsey eyes.

"All right," he said. "I'm just gonna go this way... and you stay over there."

He took a step to the right. The thestral took one to the left (it's left. Not his.)

"Really," he said. His voice dripping with disdain.

three. Hello there!

[watermelogisty]

That place looks really creepy. [ Even if Steven's been in his own share of creepy, eerily empty places. He vaguely thinks that Ronaldo would probably find this place interesting... ]

Do you think it's...haunted?

[ Asks the magical boy. From a world where "monsters" and aliens actually exists. And that has been in this place for long enough to know that, yeah, ghosts are most probably a thing here too. ]

Re: three. Hello there!

[the_gerber_baby]

[Howard gives the house another look. Boarded up windows, cobwebs, overgrown lawn, dead tree...]

Either that or they really need to fire their groundskeeper.

Schuldig "Fleischer" | Weiss Kreuz | Dangan Roleplay R2&R3 CRAU

[backstabbery]

SIX ►

[12:02 AM] okay so get this i'm pretty sure there's a fucking ghost in my kitchen right now

[12:02 AM] a fucking ghost

[12:03 AM] that's fucking expletive by the way not fucking description of activity

[12:03 AM] no i'm not going to take a picture of it by the way

[12:03 AM] you know why

[12:04 AM] because shit like that PISSES GHOSTS OFF i'm pretty sure

[12:04 AM] like my kitchen is fucking disneyland and this thing is sleeping ghoulie

[12:05 AM] hey girl lemme pose for a snapshot for the scrapbook album HELL NO

[12:05 AM] anyway how the fuck do you get rid of a ghost

[12:05 AM] i'm serious it's standing in here being menacing and i guess vaguely psychic trying to make me feel bad about some shit i actually did

[12:06 AM] which i mean is cute and gold star for effort but like get the fuck out of my house

[12:09 AM] wait

[12:10 AM] jesus you can tell it's the middle of the night here i am in a fucking kitchen just trying to get a midnight leftover calzone forgetting that my stupid ass literally lives with an exorcist while i stand here asking myself how to get rid of a fucking ghost

[12:10 AM] ok that's it eat shit ghost it's kyrie eleison time

EIGHT ►

He's smoking a lot these days, which is probably the biggest telltale sign that something is eating at him.

It's kind of funny, really. He'd sort of given it up after the whole murdercan debacle a few years back, not because he'd gone off and got religion and decided to stop slowly killing himself with tobacco and nicotine after an ordeal that had tried to quickly kill him like clockwork at the end of every damn week or anything. Nah, not because of that. It'd been more about practical reasons, he'd had to go cold turkey just by virtue of the fact that there weren't any cigarettes around to really make use of, and so then after a while he'd gotten so used to not that he just didn't pick it up again.

This, though. This is bothering him, and now he's got cigarettes available, so yeah, he's gonna fucking smoke them. He's practically a protagonist in a silent French film, with the way he's standing around like a picturesque fuck with one of them constantly dangling from his lips or his fingers and a thousand-yard stare to match.

Why does this keep happening? It can't be the wormhole machine again, can it?

Is it something else? Nagi can rip open the veil between life and death and pull people back through it. Those other fucks managed to rip open the fabric between universes and dragged people between them. So, what? Did someone pull too much? Are he and Kirei and all the ducklings now, are they just a little less tethered down than they ought to be, because of all that yanking?

In short: now that it's happened once, is this going to keep happening, forever?

It doesn't actually bother him, the getting hauled off places like this. ...Okay, it does, but like...that's not what eats at him. No, what eats at him is the implications that bullshit like this has for Crawford's infallibility. He's not a guy who has faith in a lot of things — which is hilarious, given that whole thing about spending all his time with a priest and literally wearing his cross around — but he does have faith in his leader. That's how it's always been. Unshakeable, unwavering faith — back since he was just a kid, when everything was still Rosenkreuz and he was never quite sure if he was even going to live to see tonight, much less tomorrow, belief in Crawford was his religion. Of course it was.

But Crawford never foresees shit like this, and that — bothers him.

Shit, he really hates it when shit bothers him and he can't just shoot it and watch it die.

He takes a long drag on his cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke into the chilly winter air. Whatever. It's not like he doesn't know what to do at this point, and it's not like he's as bad off as he could've been. Kirei's here. They know what to do. They know how to survive.

They've got cigarettes, and they're gonna live to see tomorrow.

Maybe that's enough.

six

[blackmass]

[12:10 AM] it is moments like this that i am reminded how difficult it is to maintain my patience and tolerance of ridiculous things at ten past midnight.

[kirei you are like two rooms away is this necessary]

[12:11 AM] what if your watch kept going off

[12:11 AM] in rapid succession

[12:11 AM] would that not be annoying

[12:12 AM] especially while you were trying to sleep

[12:12 AM] wouldn't it, schuldig

disregard the journal flip, i don't have all my icons on the other one

[aufsassig]

[12:12 AM] i am TRYING to PRAY HERE

[originallutece]

A few points.

1) Prayer won't work. Nor will calling your priest friend, although I assume he has more experience in this general area.

2) It isn't just a ghost, but a specific kind: an Adh Seid.

3) She'll go away on her own if you leave her be, though she'll return tomorrow night.

4) You're texting the wrong person.

[backstabbery]

1) oh believe me, cupcake, this ain't your grandma's bless-this-house cross-stitch kind of prayer. this one's the industrial-strength ark of the covenant melts a bastard's face off variety.

2) gesundheit!

3) how about if i spritz her in the face with a fine mist of holy water?

4) and yet you still answered...

Kyrian Hunter // Dark Hunter Series/Chronicles of Nick

[betrayedbylove]

((First attempt at putting Kyrian into existence. Let's see how this goes...))

Three

There was something about the abandoned houses that drew him in. Or perhaps it was the objects of past lives. Lives that were clearly destroyed at some time or another. There was no light in the house, but the moon was bright. That was more than enough for Kyrian to silently pick his way through the debris without stepping on anything. His eyes swept the items, lingering on those that were clearly personal. A photo caught his eye, and he picked it up almost reverently.

"What choices led you to your death?"

He didn't expect anyone to answer him, and certainly not the picture, but he can't help asking the question aloud anyway. It was funny how one tiny choice could lead to someone's undoing. Funny and heart wrenchingly terrible all at the same time.

Four

And Nick calls me an encyclopedia of all things paranatural. He would find it highly amusing that I've found something that I can't identify. It's a good thing the boy isn't here or I would have hell to pay.

[Kyrian's voice has a dry sort of humor to it before the video screen shifts to show the threstrals. They're exceptionally close, which is a good thing given it's dark out and they probably wouldn't be noticeable otherwise. Kyrian gently strokes the tip of one's nose.]

Would someone care to explain what these creatures are?

Hiei | Yu Yu Hakusho

[gremlins]

Four;

[Hiei has been familiar with death since he was an infant. Some might even say he carries an aura of it with him; certainly the bodies tend to pile up where he goes. So of course he sees the thestrals. Great skeletal things, they're terribly difficult to miss.

Seeing them isn't the problem. Working out what to do with them is.

They aren't attacking. They aren't even menacing. And despite what certain people might think, Hiei isn't about to simply kill something for the joy of killing. Or, well. He won't kill a dumb animal for the joy of killing, because what would be the point? There'd be no thrill in it. It'd be like kicking a cat: satisfying on a purely sadistic level, perhaps, but nothing he wishes to indulge in.

But the damn things won't stop following him.

He doesn't understand why. He hasn't fed them, he hadn't even pet one of them. He'd stared at them for a while, watching and waiting to see if they'd attack, and then they hadn't, and so he'd moved on to find something that would. They'd followed: slowly, sedately, trotting behind him as naturally as if they were his own.

It's a good thing he's alone. If he wasn't, someone else might bear witness to the way he draws his sword and darts forward, flashstepping so quickly it's as if he teleported: one moment here, the next there, his sword flashing in front of him. But though he slashes and cuts, there's a noticeable lack of blood or gore. He stops just short of cutting the thestrals, and so his purpose becomes clear: he isn't trying to harm them, but scare them.

This doesn't seem to have much effect. The thestrals stare at him for a long while, waiting to see if he'll do anything else, then take a step forward, ready to begin following him once more.]

Five;

[Guess who just ran into the fairies? Moreover: guess who the fairies are determined to bother? Hiei waves an irritable hand as one swoops towards him, chattering in a voice too high-pitched to make out proper words. He scowls down at the watch, his eyes narrowing as he says:]

Tell me: are there any actual foes on this peninsula, or are they all as pathetic as these insipid flying insects?

Ten; aka I make my own prompts

[There's a new addition to Kurama's flower shop.

Addition is not, perhaps, the right word, but it's difficult to know what the right word would be. Certainly not employee: he snorts and ignores any and all plant-related questions directed his way, and certainly he's not helping out around the shop. But nor does he seem to be a customer.

What he seems to be, mostly, is a hanger-on: sitting in a chair, he watches the customers with a derisive eye, his arms folded over his chest.]

Do these fools know what precisely they're buying from you?

[Oh, that's . . . not to you, but the shop's owner. Perhaps you'd like to object to the fact this weird little gremlin is just straight up talking over your head?]

OBVIOUSLY TEN LIKE WHAT BAIT IS THIS

[roseblooms]

[The remarkable thing is, it's so easy to settle in to the natural state of affairs of having Hiei hanging around again. Never mind that it's been literal months since the last time they saw each other; the adjustment period has been effectively nil, save for a few irritable questions on Hiei's part and at least one hastily-conceived proposal to hunt down their captors and rend them limb from limb. But now here they are, and he's arranging peonies in a bouquet while Hiei perches on a chair in the corner, and there's very little that feels more right than the sound of his demon friend's carping words ringing out from the corner in his usual grumpy exasperation.]

I should hope so, Hiei. It is a flower shop, after all; it's not as though they come in expecting ice cream sundaes.

[Look at his patience. Look at his serenity. He is a vision.]

[gremlins]

Hmph.

[That seems to be all he wants to contribute on the subject. He watches a girl examine a few tulips, a delighted smile on her face, and his scowl only darkens.

And lo and behold, a few seconds later, the words burst out of him:]

They know you're a demon here! Surely they've seen you in action-- are they simply delusional, or determined to make their potential execution as swift as possible?

[Oh, that was the wrong thing to say; now the girl looks vaguely disturbed.]