souljammed | Test Drive Meme

Test Drive Meme

Prompts

Arrival: So you've just arrived in Nyoi-Cho. Congratulations! You must be so excited about having your wish granted. Or maybe you're upset that the result wasn't quite what you expected? If that's the case, then that's too bad! There are no take backs and no redoes, so you're stuck with what you have! Maybe you should have been more careful about how you worded that wish...

Oh well. There's no use in dwelling on it. You're a magi now, and that means adjusting to a whole new lifestyle! Maybe one of the townspeople can help you out.

Only... they're acting a bit strangely, aren't they? They're all too happy to show you around, but there's something unsettling about the way they're behaving. Almost cheerfully dissonant. Any questions about the history of the town are met with blank stares and brief silence, before they plaster a smile onto their faces and change the subject. Any attempts to tell them about your duties as a magi or anything else that relates to the magical will get similar reactions.

Isn't there anyone normal here that you can talk to at all?

Home Improvement: The houses that the magi are given access to really are something, aren't they? There's almost no limit to what they can do! Why don't you create the house of your dreams, or maybe recreate and relive your favorite childhood scenes? Invite some spectators over to marvel!

A Corrupted Soul Gem: You neglected to take care of your soul gem, and now you don't feel quite yourself anymore. You feel like you're losing your sense of self - all you seem to be able to focus on is your old regrets and past failures. What's happening to you?

A Successful Mission: Congratulations! You met up with your first Witch, and you fought valiantly. For your efforts, you've been awarded a grief seed - and with it, access to a brand new power! What sort of power did you get? Is it a useful one, or is it not so useful? Maybe you've mastered it beautifully, and now you're showing off to all of your friends. Maybe you're having a hard time keeping it under wraps, and now you're wreaking havoc across the town without meaning to!

A Dreadful Nightmare: You had an absolutely horrid day. As you drift off to sleep, your mind dwells on all the injustices you've had to endure. In response, your bed swallows you up, and your room shifts into a horrific Nightmarescape. What sort of Nightmare are you? What kind of Nightmarescape do you create? Hopefully your fellow magi can stop you before you cause too much damage!

Wildcard: Feel free to use any information from the FAQ or the World Info page to make your own prompt!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

arrival

[ I wish to kill her. Give me the power to tear that woman to shreds and destroy her once and for all.

Riful hadn't even thought about living beyond that, and certainly hadn't asked to restore her limbs. She hadn't considered that as a possibility, which is what makes it so confusing and infuriating that she has two feet to stand on, two arms to reach out with -- and not an ounce of power to do anything useful with them. Her first thought was that her yoki had been suppressed, or that the regeneration of her limbs had drained her to her limit, but the truth is even worse. She doesn't feel an absence of power, an emptiness that would imply the possibility for replenishment. She feels nothing. Even if she had the strength to disembowel one of the smiling idiots thronging around her, she could eat guts until she burst and it would make no difference. This body, her body, has never been anything but human.

The furious internal monologue this realization has prompted within Riful could go on for literally, like, six more paragraphs -- and that's not even taking into account what's happened to Dauf -- but this is just a test drive meme, and ain't nobody got time for that. What matters is that she's cold and hungry and furious, but after shouting at the residents yields no answers and stomping around barefoot just leads to her stepping on a bunch of stray detritus and hurting her feet, she shifts her focus from expressing the rage she feels to doing what she does best, when she feels her strength alone isn't enough to accomplish what she desires. She sets out to identify potential comrades, people who aren't completely useless.

That's not as easy to gauge, now that she can't read the yoki of any and all bystanders, but for now looking for people who are more animated than the placid locals -- or ones who have a gem on display -- will have to suffice. Riful is a fairly obvious newbie herself, what with being an apparently prepubescent girl in a shift dress and all, but rather than looking lost she approaches her current object of scrutiny purposefully, with more curiosity than fear. It's been a long time since she's had to act the part of the child she seems to be, and she's never been particularly good at it anyway. ]

Thank goodness, [ she sighs, smiling up (well, not necessarily up, but probably, let's be real) at them. ] I was beginning to think I was alone, you know?

my little post-battle, friendship is magic

Marvelous! I hadn't expected it to last half that long -- it really surprised me, but that's just the kind of opponent I like.

[ She's totally serious about just how pleased she is right now, is the thing. This is high-octane, grade A, zero irony Riful enthusiasm. It also looks like the hair that got singed and/or sliced off in the midst of the fray back there has grown back, which is weird -- but probably no weirder than the bizarrely large sword she was just fighting with, or the chipper way she's addressing her partner in the aftermath. ] And working together against such an enemy to grow even stronger... that's how comrades should always be, I think. Though your technique could use some refinement...

[ RIFUL, PEOPLE COULD HAVE DIED ]

[What cruel entity allowed these two to mee- oh right, Kyuubey. Well, Riful, if you wanted a friend with lots of enthusiasm RE: sick violence, you fought alongside the right uh. Well Nui's not exactly a person, but. She's happy all the time and really into inflicting pain, and at the end of the day isn't that what really matters?

Her magical combat arms have turned back to normal, and she doesn't even respond to that little dig with any kind of visible annoyance. But so long as we're being honest here, Riful...]

It really was fun, wasn't it? There aren't that many people out there worth fighting alongside, but you're not too bad! Not super fashionable, maybe, but you got the job done!

[ How very dare. But there's no denying she's been partnered with an interesting (not) person today -- it's a stroke of luck, really! Riful likes strong principles, regardless of whether or not they're set in opposition to her own goals, but she's not yet strong enough to really get to work on that kind of person... right now, it's best to fight alongside someone less burdened with moral objections to her sunny disposition. ]

Hm... [ She taps a finger to her chin, and her eyes flick off to the side for a moment. To be fair, she really could stand to switch it up a little now that busting out of dresses like tissue paper when she releases her humanoid form isn't a pressing concern. ] You say it like that, but a sloppy attack is just as unbecoming if it ceases to be effective. If one looks at it that way, then focusing on appearance is a luxury only the naturally strong can afford, isn't it?

[ Wait, is that a compliment to Nui's talents or an implication that she's not strong? Is she just being anime dialogue levels of vague? Can it be all three? ]

[Bruh is it time for a vague cheery anime dialogue PA-off because Nui is 100% into that. She hoped Riful would be interesting, and so far this girl is delivering.]

Of course not! Clothing is how you tell the weak from the strong! Or at least it is to someone like me. Not putting care into your appearance is absolutely unforgivable! But... I suppose some faux pas are understandable at the beginning of a new season.

[She flickers her fingers back into claws for a second as she picks up her parasol for emphasis. She's only been fighting this way for a little while, you know!]

[ HELL YES, THIS TRAIN NEVER STOPS ]

How is that?

[ Her voice lilts with honest curiosity. Taking pride in one's form isn't quite the same thing, as she sees it -- at least not when the form is one like hers is. (Was. Riful's expression sours, if only for a few seconds.) Is there something particular that sets Nui's conception of clothing apart and makes it of interest, or is it just vanity? She genuinely delights in hearing about novel powers and experiences, so long as they might be of use to her later, so she hopes it's not the latter. ]

I would like to understand, you see. After all, the best part of making new friends is learning new things.

[Nui puts a finger to her lips in an exaggerated "I AM THINKING AND ALSO CUTE" pose.] How to explain it...

As the Grand Couturier of the Revocs Corporation, I think about clothes a lot, and I guess I'm a little biased as someone who makes them. But think about it this way - clothing is what separates people from animals, right? If you're naked, you're basically calling yourself subhuman - so it's the duty of people who are more powerful and know better to make sure their outfits show it! If you aren't taking care of your appearance, you're wasting the potential of your clothes, and you might as well not wear any at all!

[This makes more sense in the world she comes from where clothes are aliens and people literally fight with them, I swear.]

[ Mama instincts go! ...is not entirely what's going to happen, but Junko's not one to leave an underdressed child alone and unassisted, and she's obviously too animated and frustrated to be a local.

Junko leans down to try to match Riful's eye level. ]

You alright? Do you need me to help find your parents, or are you stuck here without 'em?

Test Drive Meme

riful of the west | claymore

post-battle

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Arrival because why not, poor Junko