crystalclods | Test Drive Meme | December-February 2016/17

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Test Drive Meme | December-February 2016/17


TEST DRIVE MEME
Welcome to the Cosmographia Test Drive Meme! This is a place for you to test out any characters you've been considering for the game or just to splash around in the waters and see what's right for you. Give our infopages a glance over and use the prompts below as a jumping off point! Threads from prompt A and B can be made canon for the game so long as both parties agree to it! Prompts C and D, unfortunately, cannot, as they take their cues from events and Excursions already run in Cosmographia. In short - pick a character, write up a starter and have a blast!
PROMPT A - ARRIVAL
You don't remember getting in this hole but you definitely remember falling out of it. You go tumbling out into the heart of a cavernous temple. Sparkling Gems suspended in bubbles float lazily about the ceiling, just a little out of reach. There's a greenish glow cast over the room by the huge crystal looming before you in the center. It's... curiously heart shaped, now you think to take a closer look at it. If you're curious enough to touch it, you'll get some basic answers about your situation... but then again, there's no guarantee you're just going to walk up to a giant weird thing in the middle of a giant weird room and touch it, right? Why not take a look around and see for yourself what kind of place this is? Perhaps you'll run into someone in the same predicament as you, or perhaps you'll run into someone who can help explain why there's a weird rock now affixed to your body?
PROMPT B - THE FARMER'S MARKET
It's Thursday in Waverly Bay, and that can mean only one thing: the weekly Farmer's Market is here again! The town plaza is all abuzz with activity today. Stalls not only from farmers on the outskirts of town but from crafty residents with interesting homemade items to sell, and businesses looking to attract the Market's crowd are all here! The weather's a little chilly but it's still an excellent place to spend the day, so long as you've got some money to spend. Are you shopping for a good deal on vegetables for dinner? Or perhaps you're getting a feel for the residents, having recently arrived? Or, perhaps, are you an industrious gem who's looking to set up shop? Either way, you're bound to run into somebody in this bustling, busy place.
PROMPT C - INVESTIGATION
Now that you're starting to get a hold of your powers, you've been sent through the warp pads on some kind of mission to Bricktown, the nearby city. As it turns out, the town is suffering from an infestation of small, bird-like creatures that have taken to nesting around town and letting out the most awful of rackets. Poofing these creatures will net you a small Gem shard. Poof as many as you can and bubble all those shards! You won't be able to do it alone, though. Maybe one of these birbs is just a bit out of reach or maybe you've not gotten a hang of your powers yet. Either way, working with your fellow Gems is the best way for you to get to the bottom of this and find where these birds are coming from!
PROMPT D - COMBAT
Uh-oh! Looks like you've run into a monster! These critters can pop up anywhere around Waverly Bay so it doesn't really matter where you were before or what you were up to. All you know now is that you need to buckle down and beat this thing! *Giant Mothwing* - With broad wings that shed scales on the wind, this corrupted Gem bears a striking resemblance to a large moth or butterfly. The body between its wings is no beauty, though - it usually stays rolled into a wheel-like spiral to protect its flat, pinkish gem, but when it uncurls to attack it looks more like a worm with teeth. Yikes! Loud noises make it lash out in agitation. Even when it's not attacking, it flies around restlessly, shedding sharp, glasslike scales that can leave nasty cuts as they whiz past. It'll be hard to get close to it unless it's lured down out of the sky. *Chameleoid* - The shape of this monster's body is more like a tardigrade than a lizard, but its camouflage ability and long, sticky tongue are worth commemorating. The Chameleoid can flatten and expand its body, and change the color and texture of its outer hide to blend in seamlessly with its surroundings, and it uses this ability to duck in and out of battle. Keep an eye out for suspicious movement when it vanishes from view. The Chameleoid shoots out its 20-foot-long tongue to disarm, trip up, and gross out Gems, but it's not averse to eating any small objects it might grab. The inside of its mouth looks softer than the rest of it, so maybe you can turn that to your advantage...? *Hippocampus* - A serpentine monster from the sea that sports a pair of razor-sharp forelimbs, two tusks, two horns, and a wicked set of jaws. Where's the protection for the rest of her body? She has a soft belly and a slightly more armored back. Luckily - for her, not you - she can breathe fire to respond to attacks on her tail. Why does an aquatic monster breathe fire?? Sometimes the world just doesn't have to make sense. She's about three three elephants long and faster on sand than she looks, preferring in battle to slither around swiftly and spit fire, but if caught, she'll turn her horns on you! *Wildcard Option* - Make your own! You know by now that you've got some special powers just from being a Gem. Apparently, from what little you've heard, you can shapeshift into things and pull a weapon from your gem, and you have some sort of unique special power. But maybe you don't know what it is yet, or you're still not used to using it? Guess you're going to have to learn on the job. Don't leave your fellow gems hanging if you see them fighting one of these little guys either! You're going to need each other to take 'em down!
PROMPT E - WILDCARD
Not into any of these prompts? Thought of something more fun? Go for it!

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[She actually seems less interested with him and far more interested in the bubble he's holding, flinching again when he moves it as if she's just waiting for it to burst. The "girl" on the end of that sentence snaps her attention back to him with a scowl, but her gaze continues to flit between the newcomer and the bubbled gem as she answers.]

I've got several.

Which one you end up with depends on whether or not you put that Gem back.

[She doesn't know which Gem monster is inside that thing and she'd rather not find out right now.]

[He maneuvers the bubble into his hands, holding it against its unnatural buoyancy, keeping a clear grip on it.]

No. You want to keep these locked up, you need to give them the choice, first.

[He pauses, sensing her complete disgust.]

Any self-respecting monster who has to choose between harming innocent people and locking himself away would make the right choice. But you, your kind. You don't give that option, do you?

[She rolls her eyes with an exasperated sigh, putting her hands on her hips as she casually takes a couple of steps to the side to make sure she's between him and the door out. This is so stupid.]

What part of, "They're a danger to themselves and others," are you not getting?

They can't choose. They don't realize what they're doing!

So you've crafted a really nice gilded prison here. Are they even alive, like this? Did you think about the fact that you've taken that away, too?

[Boyce's grip tightens. The bubble strains.]

You're young. You don't understand. This, [he gestures to the bubble in his hands, the serene chunk of glittering black rock completely inert within] this isn't a kindness.

[And of course in his fervent bid to make her understand, he applies a little bit too much pressure.

The gem falls to the ground with a clatter, and Boyce, despite himself, holds his breath. Nothing happens immediately, but that shouldn't be surprising to a seasoned gem. Boyce is not, so of course he leans down to pick the freed gem up.

Just as he's about to touch it, a blinding light forms around it, shaking and shivering with the corruption that twists it out of form. The force of its reforming pushes even the big man back, off of his feet, and Boyce skids back a foot or two as a monstrous bird thing rears up. At first its eyes are clenched tightly shut, but opening them all in quick succession, it gives an undulating croak as it fastens its gaze on the gem that freed it.

Boyce's version of kindness is met with a swift, sudden strike, and he's suddenly very well preoccupied with a beak that had just missed a killing stab, which he's now wrapped his heavy arms around.

This leaves the whipping tail of the monster facing Yang, along with the gem mounted near the tail's base like a second spray of crystal feathers. The beast's flapping and noisy squawking are disturbing the rest of the bubbles, which are being bounced around by stray strikes. Nothing is bursting--yet--but the situation has gone from tense and uncomfortable to much-too-dangerous in all of a heart-beat.

And it's clear that even if Boyce seems to have a surface understanding of what's going on here, he has no clue how to comport himself. He doesn't materialize a weapon of any kind. He's still stuck in his preconceived notions of what he can and can't do, and that would be to keep the bird beak on lock-down as he lets off a snarled curse or three.]

Don't-!

[That's about all she manages to get out before the bubble bursts, releasing the gem inside.

Teeth grit, Yang stays where she is, but the golden bracelets around her wrist suddenly expand into a pair of metallic gauntlets, a barely visible glow emanating from the area of her yellow midriff.

Even so, she's just barely prepared for the monster that emerges from it, shielding her face with her now-armored forearms, her boots digging shallow trenches into the ground as the energy radiating off it collides against her. And when she finally gets a good look at the thing, she only has one thing to say.]

Damn it!

[She should've punched this guy in the face the minute he started reaching for a bubble, this is what happens when she's nice about stuff.

She also has about a moment's heads up before that tail comes whipping towards her, throwing herself out of the way and rolling back onto her feet.

There's a brief glance spared towards the other bubbled gems as well as the Heart Gem because shit this is not good before her gaze zeroes in on Boyce struggling with the business end of the monster's beak.

Ducking under another swipe from the monster's tail, she cocks a fist back and then punches it forward. With a bang like a shotgun, a firework-like flare rockets out of a muzzle set inside the armored edge of her gauntlet, whizzing across the room and exploding against the back of the bird's head as Yang screams at it.]

OVER HERE BIRD BRAIN.

[The bid for attention works, if only because the beast is growing frustrated with Boyce's iron grip. More importantly, the energy blast ruffles its feathers, sending black, glinting down into a stormy spiral around the three of them.

The bird brain squawks and reefs hard on Boyce's grip, pulling the man upright and shaking him bodily. It's almost twice his not insignificant height, and bigger overall.

Turning in one jagged, sharp motion, it hisses at Yang and flaps its wings. The down, previously floating airily around them, forms shadow slivers that sing down on the girl's position. Death by a thousand cuts, or perhaps one thousand cuts and a razor sharp beak.

Boyce is not completely helpless, at least. With the bird preoccupied, he regains his feet and charges back into the milieu. He grabs the tail and yanks as it surges at the girl, halting it before it can get its beak around her. If he's bleeding from incidental nicks of feather-slivers, it's because his body still very much believes it can be damaged... even if what comes out is an oddly silver fluid.]

Don't hurt it!

[It's an odd request, and downright foolish, but Boyce isn't ready to believe that this is a terrible idea.]

[Making a frustrated snarl when the monster rounded on her, Yang sucked in a breath as the deadly splinters whistled towards her, dodge-rolling to the side. Her reflexes were surprisingly quick for someone her age, almost more befitting a practiced warrior than an innocuous looking teenage girl as she pulled her guard up, most of the remaining splinters shattering harmlessly against her gauntlets. She hadn't gotten out of it completely unscathed however, a couple red lines now visible along her arms and down her legs and one obvious scratch across her cheek.

She'd also been put in a very bad position to fend off that beak as it comes piercing down towards her but she'd braced herself, pulling one fist back with an ominous clicking sound. So help her she'd give this monster something to choke on.

So when it falls short of her, she freezes, glancing beyond it to where she can just make out Boyce. She hears him much more clearly at least.]

Are you kidding me???

[Let her just momentarily ignore the fact that there's a struggling, multi-eyed bird monster right in front of her because no really? What the hell, man??]

[The bird makes for another lunge and Boyce is forced to tug hard again, lest the girl get snapped in half.]

Maybe it can... change...

[He isn't sounding too sure of himself... but then again, he's been forced to apprehend and sometimes literally sit on unruly newcomers hours before the rise of a full moon, when even he isn't at his best. This can't be much different, can it? He's never had to try to calm a fully shifted werewolf, having always been in the thrall of it himself. Seeing things from this perspective is a little eye-opening in a very unfortunate sense.

The monster doesn't seem to think much of Boyce's peace-preaching, because it changes tactics, leaping powerfully upwards with a single flap, dragging Boyce nearly off the ground and sending the bubbled gems around it into a vortex that could very likely end in disaster.

Boyce gives another tug and the bird shrieks, taken off balance. It swings alarmingly to one side, wings dredging the air futilely before it slams into the ground at the foot of the crystal heart, where it puts up one hell of a clatter. Seizing his chance, Boyce leaps on the bird, trying to pin it. He manages to get one wing wedged against its body before it shreds him from armpit to knee with its claws, and he gives a pained snarl in response--he's determined, even if he's bleeding badly. He manages to grab its leg, but he's obviously outmatched and he's losing his temper.]

[Meanwhile, Yang has fully lost hers. This is gone way too far and gone on too long. Somebody's going to get hurt. ...More hurt. And they're veering dangerously close to a full gem monster break out. That almost deadly vortex is the final straw.

With a furious scream, Yang punches her fists together, her irises shifting color from a stony purple to a livid bright red and a fiery glow spreading down the length of her hair. Shifting her stance, she lets loose another angry screel as she throws a barrage of shots at every single one of the monster's eyes, not caring whether the impacts or the smoke from the explosions blinds it first, and each shot punctuating a syllable as she shouts.]

YOU'RE. CRAZY. AND. I'M. ENDING. THIS. RIGHT. NOW!!!

[She drops her arms down to her sides, taking a running start and then propelling herself up into the air with another rapport from her gauntlets. Twisting in mid-air, she angles herself so that she can pull her right arm back, tongues of flame trailing from her hair as she drops down towards the monster's head, aiming to cave its stupid skull in.]

[Boyce is there to witness all of this superhuman firepower, but he's too busy keeping the bird pinned to do much about it. For its own part, the corrupted gem takes every hit, body puffing under the barrage until its very feathers are standing on end.

By the time that Yang's fist connects with its head, the force seems to not only cave it in, but transfer all the way down its body. Boyce is thrown off, the bird pops in a shower of feathers that scintillate with excess energy. Its gem falls back to the temple floor, none the worse for wear.

Boyce, on the other hand, is trying to push himself upright, but his hand is over his side and he's left a small skid-mark of silver where he was thrown.]

That... [he has to pause to acknowledge the pain that drawing breath causes. Stupid, he knows; he's a gem, or at least he now thinks he knows it. His body is not vanishing the sensation away. If anything, with the adrenaline beginning to ebb, it's even worse.]

Was not... how things were supposed to go.

[Yang's still visibly seething from the smoking shallow crater she's left standing in after the monster poofs, a small trail of blood slowly starting to trickle down from the cut in her cheek. She's obviously still furious and it shows in the rigid way she storms towards the gem, re-bubbling it and half-pushing, half-lobbing it into a high, far corner of the Heart's chamber.

And then she whirls on Boyce, irises still a burning crimson.]

How did you think they were going to go???

[They're really lucky, this could have ended so much worse.]

I told you! They don't understand what they're doing!!

They're drawn to the Temple because this used to be their home. They've been hurt and they're in pain!!! Containing them in here like this is the only way to keep them calm and safe until we can find a way to fix them.

DO YOU GET IT NOW???

Hrrgh.

[Non-committal, but Boyce is trying to drag himself to his feet. He's in shock, especially given that he's just recognized that the silver fluid on his hand is coming off of him.

He looks once at Yang, then drops his gaze, looking away.]

Wasn't meant to happen. Didn't know it would happen.

[Yang scowls darkly in response, fists clenching a little.]

Remember that the next time you tell somebody they don't understand.

[Because yes, she's still mad about that too.

She stalks a bit stiffly towards him, stopping purposefully in front of him and then thrusting her arm out.

But not to strike him. Instead, she's held her hand out in a clear invitation for him to take so she can help get him to his feet. If he takes it, he'll find she's surprisingly stronger than her age or build suggest, perfectly capable of pulling him up and supporting him if he needs it.

Her eyes have gone back to their original lilac hue, and while she does still look pretty pissed, there's a hint of concern underneath all that frustration.

...Boyce might have to squint to see it, but it is in there. ...Somewhere.]

[He takes the hand without thinking. There have been plenty of little hixura--or rather, werewolves--on his team who possessed more strength than they seemed capable of, and Yang has demonstrated some incredible powers he doesn't know how to begin to parse. His other arm is still clutching tight to his side where the worst of the damage is done, and he grunts as she helps him finally get upright again.]

Not... not something I'm likely to forget.

[He has to concede a point, even though there's a part of him that wants to try again. Under different circumstances? Certainly, now that he understands the extent of these gems' horrific change. There's a part of him that is spooked now, too. Is that him, waiting to happen? Will he be shot in the face, the thing wedged in his chest that is now supposedly the very heart of him encased in a glowing bubble, left to float here for eternity?

The fear gives him strength, and he finally pushes away from her, wobbling a little on otherwise heavy, steady legs.

He has to concede another point.]

Where do you go when you're hurt? This is... not good.

[He's seen worse, and this wound, though it shrills warnings that nearly drown out coherent thought, isn't all that much worse than the horrible feeling of transformation. Usually his kind are quick to reknit minor scratches and bruises, but this is bigger than that by a fair margin.]

[If he wants to try that again some other time, that's fine with her, just so long as he does it far away from other people or the Temple.

She frowns a little when he moves away on his own from her but otherwise makes no attempt to stop him.]

There's a woman named Naomi with a clinic in the town outside. One of her gem powers is healing, she'll get you patched up in no time.

Can you make it that far?

[Because if he can't, Yang has a back-up plan, but she'd much rather let a professional like Naomi handle this.]

[He's obliged to say yes at this point, even if he's not sure of what's outside of this room, of how far away the town is from this dream-like place. Nodding once, he begins to turn towards what he assumes must be the exit of the temple... but he slows again. Is he feeling dopey from blood-loss, or is that genuine regret that's colouring his thoughts?]

Girl?

[He still doesn't know her name.]

Sorry about that... thanks.

[Yeaaaah, on second thought, she's gonna skip to her back-up plan and then drag this guy to Naomi to get him checked out. Just in case.

She does offer a small, lop-sided smile at the apology and gratitude though.]

No problem. And it's Yang Xiao Long.

[Her mouth quirks up a bit.]

Or just "Sir" is fine.

[She says that like she's joking and she...probably is. She has to get one more dig in at his earlier condescension, after all.]

Where's the worst of it?

[She's not a professional healer and she's walked away from some stuff that by all rights she probably shouldn't have under normal circumstances but he's looking kinda bloody to her. And that's even accounting for the weird silver blood he's got going on.]

[He considers her name--and the joke--but doesn't do much more than nod for now. Truth be told, the silver blood is alarming not just in its quantity and in the pain of the rents in his flesh, but in the quality of its colour... if he's got silver running through his veins, shouldn't he be dead? Or is this another trick of the gem that he's become?

It's all a little too much to think about right now, just as the initial touch of the crystal heart overloaded him, left him with all the wrong impressions.

Boyce sighs, turns slightly to face her. He's holding the mess of his ruined flesh together, but it's clear that the bird thing's claws left the worst marks along the side of his torso... a little less so further up the side of his chest and down across his thigh. Any werewolf he's know is familiar with wrecking clothing in the face of an unwanted shift, but this is a little different. He might respect Yang's battle tactics now, but it's embarrassing to admit to the vulnerability of the wound he's suffering, let alone the slashed sweater and longjohns. Thank good workmanship for a sturdy leather belt.]

It'll mend, [he tries to tell her.] it'll just take time.

[Luckily for Boyce, Yang's infinitely more concerned about how much blood he may or may not be losing than any kind of propriety...or Boyce's pride. Sorry Boyce.]

Yeah, no kidding. But you kinda have to not die first for that to happen.

[Good sir, that is a lot of blood.

Yang takes a moment to rub her hands together, the movement at first appearing to be a nervous motion until a soft glow lights up around her hands.]

Hold still a sec.

[And unless he does something to stop her, she's going to press a hand against where the injuries along his torso are.

She never had healing powers back home, outside of the self-healing abilities that Aura availed her, but she's practiced off and on with her thermotherapy power ever since she discovered she had it and has mostly worked out what it can do. There's no way she can fully heal wounds this severe but she can probably fix them up enough that he won't bleed out completely and end up gemming himself before they can find Naomi.

Her healing powers have one huge drawback though as, being heat-based, they work by cauterizing first and then soothing.

So uh...this might sting a little.]

[He should have figured there'd be a drawback to glowing hands outside of the sheer strangeness of the gesture. Boyce bares his teeth when she lays one burning hand over his side, and the smell of seared wool and cauterized flesh attests to the fact that even if his body is now a projected hologram--which he is and will probably for some time have deep, lingering doubts about--it does a very good job of acting just like real flesh. The silver blood blackens under her touch as though corroded by heat, and it's only when the soothing effect kicks in that Boyce moves from his rictus of unexpected pain.

He wobbles then, moving drunkenly to the nearest pillar to support himself... and there he sags for a moment or two, trying to regulate his breathing and shake the shock of it all.]

You could warn a man. [of course this is probably fair turn-about, considering his earlier accidental release of the corrupted gem.]

Would you've let me do that if I told you it was going to hurt?

[Spoken wryly and with a slight smirk, but there's an undercurrent of sympathy because she knows she's kinda crap at healing.

She walks back over to him, offering an arm for support again if he'd like it.]

Let's get you to Naomi before I have to do that again.

[Only Yang Xiao Long could make a concerned comment sound like a threat.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Test Drive Meme | December-February 2016/17

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I'm so sorry for this megapost update, holy fricklefracks

ROFL no this is great 8'D

:>

THE NOISE I MADE AT THAT ICON

I promise to try to keep its use to a minimum

it's amazing XD

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