crystalclods | Test Drive Meme | August-September 2016

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Test Drive Meme | August-September 2016


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 the Gem Observatory. From the sounds of things, there's an ancient relic here somewhere that could serve useful for the Gems in the Temple and someone has to go out and find it. ... the only problem is that you're not exactly sure where you should start looking in this place. And on top of that, it's a complete mess. Junk and debris and books and papers everywhere with no clue where this relic could be. You're going to have to do some serious digging to find this thing. And on top of that, you might find that when you try to go back the warp pad you took here has managed to stop working in between your arrival and now. Maybe something went wrong back in the control room? Or the pad itself needs fixing? You'll have to poke around in the guts of the machine to try and figure this one out.
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...? *Strawberry Spider* - Though its long, spindly legs holding it off the ground make it look like a spider, this monster is actually mostly made up of plant material. Trees and strawberry plants are rooted in the corrupted Gem's featureless, geometric body, forming woody legs and blanketing the monster in foliage and strawberries. Its aroma may be sweet, but the Strawberry Spider is ruthless and very, very perturbed. It stands 15 feet tall and 25 feet wide, and its skittering feet move fast to stomp on attacking Gems. Thinking of cutting off a leg? Try it, and hundreds of strawberry runners will immediately sprout from the stump to ensnare you. The strawberries are hungry, and they've got a "taste for blood"... Damaging the plants living on it won't actually hurt the corrupted Gem, and they grow back fast. This will be a tough monster to defeat. *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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oh, shit-" He sprung back a step and two facts clashed at once: He'd knocked someone in the gut with the cloth roll, and he'd knocked Senpai in the gut with the cloth roll.

O-okay, so the guy won't threaten to sue, but as he set the roll down somewhere safe where it wouldn't get dusty his eyes were on his friend.

"The hell're you apologizin' for!? I clobbered ya with the freakin' cloth! You okay?!"

Wait, he knew that voice--

"A-ah, Kanj-- Tatsumi-kun?"

He could never forget one of his best friends and team mates, after all-- but he'd no idea Kanji was here, and... well, did this Kanji know him?

Well then again, his reaction to him may be sign enough. Though, those clothes...?

"I'll be fine, don't worry..."

To prove his point, he started to pull himself up, though resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Sorry, you doing some... costume work...?"

Why else would he be wearing something so elegant, after all?

That immediately increased the worry over his face. "...Did I really hit ya so hard y'forgot my name or somethin'...?"

But he was fine. Hopefully. Kanji still appeared a bit skeptical as Souji got up and hunkered down. He did take a blow to the stomach, after all, that's gotta be wind knocked out of him. Whoops.

"Costume...? Oh." He looked to the cloth. Blushed. That's what he meant, right?

"Nah, I'm runnin' a delivery. Little old lady can't walk much, so... y'know... I offered to run the stuff over to her when it was ready."

"No, trust me, you're not someone I could ever forget, Kanji. It's just..."

A very, very long story.

So... if that's the case, where ever they were, Kanji was far enough along on the timeline that they were friends. That made a tenseness in Souji's shoulder's relax, and a small smile returned to his face as he pulled himself up.

"It's nothing." But, Kanji seemed to have missed his question.

"No, uh... that's not quite what I meant." He gestured to the outfit Kanji was currently wearing, "Usually you'd only wear something like that if I asked you while we were... you know, 'exploring'."

Hey, sometimes exploring the TV world wearing ridiculous outfits was fun, alright?

Of course. He trusted the guy that he'd say 'no' if he didn't feel like wearing weird shit and wouldn't be pressed on the issue! But-

Kanji canted his head. "Oh, ya mean my outfit. I told ya... I got stuck in a weird faerie tale world for a bit and was Beast, remember? I got a better handle on my clothes shapeshifting but sometimes I get popped back into this. My boss seems to like it, so I don't bother much with it when I'm on the clock..."

He scratched his head and shrugged awkwardly.

"...Uh."

Ookay, there was a real mix up going on here.

"Kanji, this is the first time I've met you here. I just fell in a day or so ago."

So wait... did that mean there had been another version of him? And... wait, Beast? Well, he couldn't say it wasn't appropriate in some ways, but...

"So this isn't the first... 'world' you've been to?"

A long stare. Part of him wanted to know if this was a good time to joke, but he'd been here so long that timelines were very much a thing beaten into his head. With a small, defeated sigh, he went and gathered up the cloth roll.

"Okay, so... if you ain't shittin' me, then you ain't the Yu Narukami I spoke with a while back. You're from another timeline straight up, then."

He looked back behind him, then gestured for the guy to follow.

"C'mon, this lady needs her stuff. We can walk n' talk?"

"...Yu Narukami?"

This is getting even more confusing...

"My name is Souji Seta, Kanji."

But he followed all the same, his mind reeling-- so what, if he was named 'Yu Narukami' in another timeline, than who did his mom marry, and how did they look exactly alike...?!

He blinked. "S-"

Then brightened. "Souji-senpai! That's the name I'm used to from back home! Shit, it was so weird sayin' 'Yu' this and 'Yu' that... it made me wonder if any of us had different names in different timelines."

And somehow despite the internal confusion, Kanji's response made the tightness in Souji's chest lessen, somewhat.

God, he missed hearing that from his friends, even if for them, it--

Nevermind.

He laughed lightly at Kanji's question, shaking his head.

"Kanji Tatsumi, Naoto Shirogane, Yosuke Hanamura, Yukiko Amagi, Chie Satonaka, Rise Kujikawa, Teddie... Nanako too. Anything different about those names?"

Was it just him?

"No, those all sound right. At least, from my time anyway. But uh... hmm." He gestured to follow, and led the way.

"I guess I should talk about the world jumping Naoto n' I have been doin', huh? 'Cause you're right, it ain't the first. Ironically, that's kinduva story in itself; lot's happened."

World Jumping, Timelooping... he shouldn't be surprised anymore, but at least he could do his best to take it in stride.

"You said something about becoming the 'Beast' from Beauty and the Beast, right?"

But if that's the case, wouldn't Kanji look a bit more... well. Furry? And wait, if he mentioned Naoto...

"...What part did Naoto take, then?"

"Yeah. Father Time thought it was reeeeal fuckin' hilarious." His shoulders hitched and he was looking surly, but with the old man not here right now, all he could do was sulk a bit.

His face went a little pink. "O-oh... uh, she's Beauty. She's part faerie here because of it, and I'm kinda... well, I ain't 100% human before all the gem shit. Like, I can smell stuff better, I can see better, and my hearing's kinda intense."

"Huh, Naoto is Beauty..."

Now this brought a bunch of things into an interestingly light. Namely, if Kanji was naturally inclined to 'pop' into his princely outfit, that meant that Naoto may be inclined to do the same. And well, the female heroine from a fairy tale meant lots of fancy, girly dresses...

"I hope she's not too uncomfortable about the dresses," Seriously, he already knew asking her to wear even silly things while they were dungeon crawlling was pushing it, something this time he was definitely not going to do- "...But I can't help but think it's sort of fitting, too. It even matches that special move you both do."

Hmm... so did that mean Beauty needed to confess her love to the Beast to break the spell? Interesting...

But enough about that.

"Ah, so you have some animal traits, huh?" He'll need to keep his voice level with Kanji so not to bug him.

"Did anything from... well, Inaba carry over?"

You know what he means.

"From what I've seen, it's kinda weird for her still, but it's mainly the heels. They don't do too good in sand. But I've been workin' on makin' reproductions of the stuff she wears back home, so that's somethin'."

Huh. No question about the story. Thank god, because he remembered hearing that Rise was quite... er, Rise about it. Not that he blamed her; it was a great story.

Ah... he shook his head and frowned.

"I can't call up my Persona. None of us can. Whatever the gem gives us is what we've got. Though..." He rubbed his chin.

"The faerie followers that Naoto calls up look a lot like her Persona, but look like her, too. So I'm willin' ta bet the more we learn about the gems in us, the more our original powers might come through."

"Heels aren't much fun, it's true..."

They'd all done that cross dressing event, after all. Souji had a deep respect for Rise being able to dance in those things...

Oh, he had questions, he didn't want to send Kanji completely off balance after... well, whenever (if ever?) he went back home, he'd have to wait a while for Kanji to be a fraction as open as he was now with him. Teasing and questions will come later... especially if he actually talked to Naoto about his feelings finally.

"If Gems are basically the sum of us as a whole, and our Persona are a facet of ourselves, it would make sense they'd eventually manifest in some way."

Keeping pace with Kanji, Souji shook his head.

"I don't really know what my powers are. I've been sort of waiting for that 'lightbulb' moment..."

Or you know, an 'Thou art I, I art thou' moment. It's what he's used to. But little Naoto fairies? That sounded so cute...

Edited 2016-08-20 21:11 (UTC)

They were the cutest! Except for that mischievous red one... okay, yeah, she was cute too but she was a real menace.

"It all depends. Some people need a fight to call somethin' out. Others need other kinds'a stress. I wonder why the Crystal Gems or whatever don't try doin' lessons or nothin'. Or if some older gem could do it and see if they can't help the new people along, y'know?"

A 'menace', huh? Like a 'Rise' Menace or a 'goddamnit red shadows everywhere' sort of menace?

"That makes sense, I suppose. Right now new Gems act like they're mostly how they were before coming here... so trying to even conceive being anything else is... difficult."

But he turned to Kanji, offering a small smile.

"So, maybe you and Naoto should be the senpai this time, huh?"

Because, honestly, he couldn't risk it coming out in a fight right now...

Definitely a Rise menace. He wondered what Souji would think when that faerie strolled over to get snuggly next.

But Kanji turned bright red at that, his shoulders stiff as he turned away.

"I-I ain't a teachin' type. I'm just sayin' there's a gap between people who know their powers n' people still learning."

Probably chinhands at it. Must be great to know the feelings are returned, huh Kanji?

"Not the teaching type? Weren't you the one who sat me down to teach me how to make puppets?"

That had been a fun lesson, if a bit sudden. But Kanji was always someone who went with his instincts.

Kanji taught by demonstration, not lecturing-- he shouldn't put himself down like that.

"Well, there's always a gap like that. Besides, I'm brand new, so..."

Souji shrugged, still smiling at Kanji as they walked.

"So other than the heightened senses, do you have any other powers?"

"W-well, yeah, but... but that was different! I'm still figuring all that stuff out." He was still not sure if he did as well as he could with the chocolate lesson here, either.

Scratching his cheek, he nodded.

"Yeah, there's the animals I summon. They help me out when I need 'em, but they keep good company, too. But there's somethin' else I gotta talk about, seein' as you're fresh here."

He frowned.

"...So I'm Beast, yeah? You know the story, right? A cursed prince who's turned into a monster."

"Animals? Like, cats and dogs, or wild ones?" He did not put extra emphasis on the 'cats', Kanji. You're hearing things.

But at Kanji's frown, his expression changed to a more neutral one.

"Yeah, read it and seen it before. That's why I was a little confused, since the clothing is all princely, but you look human..." a pause, and a small smirk returned "...Unless you and Naoto broke the curse already?"

You know... the whole true love thing? Sorry Kanji, you kinda left yourself opened for that one... Souji only has so much willpower!

Edited 2016-08-21 21:31 (UTC)

"Wild ones. Wolves, foxes, badgers... but I know what animals say now. It's really weird to carry a conversation with a german shepard." He was a very excitable but good boy. Labrys raised him right.

But that was what he usually heard, notes that he looked human despite his role. But it was the last part that caught him off-guard.

'Gosh, Kanji, you just need to do that thing you've been terrified of doing and you'll be cured!'

'Aren't you guys dating? So why are you still a monster?'

But no. Souji would never do that. He wouldn't ask anything with that implication. In this world where he was surrounded by strangers, battling every day with his own shortened temper, he felt like he could have a better grip on his mood when it came to Senpai.

...Not without first answering his question, however. In the small chip of his resolve, his eyes had darkened and yellowed, and his teeth had grown more pronounced. He turned and smiled humorlessly.

"The shitty thing about curses is that they're a bitch to break no matter what ya do, Senpai."

"...Shit."

His face serious, he stepped closer to Kanji, concern for his kouhai formost in his mind-- forget the fact he was looking a lot more fearsome than usual.

That didn't matter-- he was still Kanji, and--

His hand went to Kanji's shoulder, staring him eye to eye.

"Is there anything I can to do help you?"

He'd meant they just got their happy ending-- heck, embarrassingly his mind had jumped to the cartoon version he'd seen as a kid, not anything... more detailed than that.

That's enough, ya bastard. The chip slowly closed in his mind, and in the same moment of chiding that part of himself he reached for Souji's hand and nudged it off.

"Don't worry about it." He turned away and drew in a breath. As he eased it out, his eyes returned to normal and his teeth receded.

"We met the 'requirement' for the curse goin' away but I'm still the way I am. So the trick's gettin' over it and learning how to keep control of myself, learning how to be a better person for somebody close to ya."

Well. That... that was a hell of a thing to say just then.

Test Drive Meme | August-September 2016

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